If You Only Knew
by Kimiko Heroux
Summary: a Tamers fic. Shirai goes to visit her cousin in Tokyo when everythings starts going abust and she loses her best friend. Now all she thinks is happening is people getting hurt because of her. bad summary Pairings: HenryXOC, Rukato, and a bit of Jurato
1. Prologue

**This is the prologue to my Tamers fanfiction of which I've been too eager to wait to post it. I have yet to completely figure out the plot, but I've got the jist, I just have to figure out how to order all the events. But overall, I have high expectations for it.**

**The pairings in this story are HenryXOC and a bit of Jurato and Rukato. (that's right, folks. Takato will have his hands full)**

**The OC in this particular story is based more like me than any other OC I created. This exact event happened to me when I was little, aside from the Digimon-like details. (And plus, I don't live in Italy) So to think I pulled the prologue out of the air is a misconception. (just thought I'd mention that)**

***sigh* I figure I should probably add the disclaimer and get it over with before I forget. I'll do it only on the prologue and that should cover the rest of the story. People should know by now that I'm not smart enough to come up with the awesomeness that is Digimon.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or any of its characters, although i kinda wish i did. But my OCs and plotlines are my own ideas, so they belong to me.**

If You Only Knew

Prologue —_Seven Years Ago_—

"I'm sure you'll love Italy. It's a very famous place." A young woman, sitting in the driver's seat, glanced into the rearview mirror of a shiny, navy blue Jaguar to look at the small girl sitting in the back seat with her arms crossed, a sketchbook resting on her lap.

The girl kept the scowl on her fact that she had put on as soon as the bomb dropped that they were moving _again_. "But I hate moving. Can't Dad just get a job and…keep it?" the girl asked her mother quietly, her sandy brown hair partly covering her light, icy blue eyes.

Her mother sighed, turning her attention back to the road, of which was covered with a dense fog. "It just doesn't work that way, dear. You'll understand when you're older, when you know better how the world really works. You can't just up and find a job like that." She snapped her fingers to emphasize her point.

The girl was the one to let out a sigh this time. "Okay, Mom." She then turned her attention to the sketchbook lying on her legs, pulling out the little pencil that was stuck in the spiral of that made up the binding of the book. Looking down at the incomplete drawing before her, she began to run the pencil across the page.

In a few moments, she looked back up at her mom. "Hey, Mom, where did Digimon come from? Were they real ever?" she questioned lightly, glancing for a split-second down at her drawing. As a little kid, her drawing of a cream-colored dog with a golden ring around its neck would seem like a masterpiece to her, but overall, it was highly un-proportional and a rather messy drawing. But one could only expect so much from a five-year-old.

Her mom rolled her eyes. This question was presented by her daughter just about a million times already. "I'm sure it was just some man that just started drawing one day and then came up with the first Digimon. They were never real, honey." And this, like the question brought forth, was spoken about a million times, in response to that very question.

Even though the girl was listening almost every time that reply was given, she, being your rather average little kid, couldn't help but still hope. It was that kind of faith only found within imaginative children such as her. And she responded with a high-key exhale as the car came to a halt at a stop sign, "Okay…"

She always found herself wondering what it'd be like to actually get a Digimon of her very own. If Fate allowed her, she would have desired the Digimon that lay drawn on her lap. She had always pretended it was there with her—like her imaginary friend, so to say. But whenever she spoke with it—giving it the sex of female—she would turn around only to see no such creature existed. Subconsciously, she knew better than for beings other than humans and animals to exists, but there was always this twinge of expectation, this little flicker of anticipation that maybe, someday, her wish would be granted and such things would fall into her life.

When the car began to move once again, suddenly, through the fog another vehicle came from another direction of the intersection. It smashed right into the right side of their car, right in front of the front passenger seat.

The girl lunged forward in her seat, her seatbelt preventing her from falling off, but still, her face bashing right into the back of the driver's seat. She faded out of consciousness for only a second, and in that blackness, saw a small figure. But that image almost instantly faded, and she found herself stunned, her head throbbing from the connection with the seat.

She abruptly became aware of the situation and the pain that enveloped her face. With a tiny hand, she wiped the lower part of her face. Covering her hand was a deep crimson. A slight nausea filled her with the fast realization. Blood stained her sketchbook, her drawing blemished with a sickening scarlet liquid.

She felt panic rising in her chest up to her throat. Blood was gushing from her nose from the blow. No other part of her was in pain, aside from the increasingly painful headache that was developing. The world was spinning all around her, a swirling, dizzying motion. Images blurred into indecipherable, blending colors.

"Honey, are you okay? Speak to me please, hon." Her mother had opened the door of which the girl was sitting next to and peered in, prodding her shoulder lightly. Her face was curved into a look of worry and slight pain as she tried to arouse her daughter.

But her attempts seemed utterly useless. The girl remained unresponsive, staring straight forward and immobilized by the flurry of nonstop colors, set in motion by no real source, with no real pattern. She felt lightheadedness fill her and thoughts that ran into her mind were unclear; nothing could be distinguished from each other.

Her mother unhooked her seatbelt for her and lifted her daughter up out of the vehicle, staining her shirt with the blood that was escaping from the girl's nose. The crimson-stained sketchbook fell from the girl's lap and on the floor of the car between the front and back seats. Giving it up for ruined, her mother left it where it was.

The girl; however, noticed the absence of her favorite item. "My…book," she peeped out, turning her head to look at the sketchbook now behind them, hardly noticeable from their current location. "Mommy…can you get my…my book?"

"I'll get you a new one, hon," her mother replied, laying her daughter on an outspread blanket she had pulled out from the trunk before she went to retrieve the girl. It was spread out in the ditch and the girl also saw a box of facial tissues that were always kept on the floor in the car. "Hold a tissue by your nose; try to make it stop bleeding."

As her mother took a few steps away to pull out a cell phone and call 9-1-1, the girl obeyed what her mother had asked of her. She was frightened to the core; whenever she thought the gushing had stopped, she had found herself wrong. More came, more than she would have thought was healthy, even at her age.

A few minutes passed and a ton more blood lost, although the loss rate had slowed down substantially. An ambulance came and a couple of paramedics walked over to the girl after speaking with her mother. They crouched down before her and looked her over slightly before asking a few questions on how she was feeling.

Her words came out monotone; it was as though her mind was in a whole other place than there. "…I'm okay…" she whispered softly, not really taking into consideration what the question truly was asking.

"Do you want to go to the hospital?" They were concerned with possible brain damage because of her unresponsive attitude. A part of them considered the possibility that she was just like many other children her age and just shy. But sometimes, that chance just couldn't be taken. "There're many kind people there who can help you."

The girl didn't even bother looking at them. Her eyes remained on the tissues stained red that were grasped in her tiny hands. "…No…I'm okay…" She never took into thought that she had just said was almost exactly the same as she had said previously, and with almost the exact same tone, except slightly more convincing.

"You sure, miss? We can take you there in the ambulance." In all the years they had been working as paramedics, most kids couldn't resist that exciting offer.

But this girl wasn't with that most. She was rather scared of riding in an ambulance, since that meant something was truly wrong with her. Her mother had always said she was perfectly healthy, was she lying all those times? "No thank you…I'm all right." Again came her zoned-out, hypnotized voice. It held no emotion, like there were more important things in her mind to attend to.

In about fifteen minutes, she watched wide-eyed as the car was towed away, her sketchbook with it. It was her favorite possession, and not because she loved to draw like most young children, but she dearly loved _what _she drew. Her favorite Digimon was her main topic, always focusing on the happiness of the little creature. She even found herself doing different poses and expressions, depending on how she felt that very day of drawing it.

And now, without her most loved of chattels, she felt without meaning with a small strand of boredom. She had this link with her drawings, almost like her eyes communicated with the delicate lines on the paper in a way most wouldn't understand.

Her mother took her small hand, and although she used to always find comfort in such grasps, she found none. Her drawings were gone, it was like losing a dear friend. But her mother didn't notice such concern in her daughter's eyes as she said, "Why didn't you go with in the ambulance, dear? I would have gone with you; there would have been nothing to be afraid of."

The girl's eyes remained on the tow truck quickly disappearing out of sight and the car it was hauling. There was a substantial amount of emptiness within her, and beyond those feelings, some strange twinge of…fear? Is that what it really was? Or something more, something different?

She was truly shaken by this experience, the blackness that had overcome her in that split second, that moment when her head smashed into the back of the seat; it was filling her mind. She was certain she had seen something more than the nothingness, something that wasn't seemingly supposed to dwell there.

She shook the thought out of her head, dismissing it before answering her mother quietly, "I know…But I'm fine…"


	2. Chapter 1: Ventriloquist…Me?

**Okay, this is chapter one. I have the plot pretty much all planned out. Just an fyi of which I forgot to mention in the author's note of the prologue is that the particular time this occurs is after episode 51 (aka the final episode of the season) but before Locomon. The Tamer's Digimon have not yet returned, but Takato finds the portal to the Digital World in this fic (an event in 51). Just thought I'd better mention that. **

* * *

Chapter 1: Ventriloquist…Me? —_Present Day_—

I bit my lip and fingered the pencil in my hands, gazing forward, but in a way _not_ gazing forward. I gave the impression there was something I was truly looking at, but in reality, I was roaming in never-never land. My eyes trailed downward to the what at first glance would seem like blank page, but at a second glance, faint pencil lines could be made out. If I were to be caught and this drawing to be seen, something unmentionable would happen…again.

Because there was always special treatment for the person that drew in outmost detail the math teacher hanging herself.

I let out a sigh, turning my attention back to the suckiness that is Algebra class. _Slope-intercept, what the heck? Whoever invented that must be both social-lifeless and single. And for anyone that actually understands it…well, they have too much time to think as well._ I looked at the chalk board in slight mystification. _It's like this stuff isn't supposed to make sense…_

Flipping to a new page in my notebook, I began to doodle absent-mindedly, my eyes falling off everything around me to the paper a few inches away from my elbow. My chin was propped up on my palm as a look of lack of inspiration was written into the features of my face. I needed a new topic, something different. _Maybe a change of scenery or somethin'…_

My thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the instant feeling that I was being watched. I didn't move my eyes, knowing eye contact was something my instincts and past experience warned me of. A little sign rang up in my mind, _She's got a gaze that can kill. Don't look at the eyes. Think of excuse, think of excuse…_

As I had already knew, my teacher's gaze was on me, because her voice instantly rang out, showing no hint of compassion, "Shirai, is there something you would like to share with the class?" That was the question that always fell from her lips, I knew it when after the third time of being caught. Most people would have thought I would have learned my lesson by now.

All I could truly say to that was that I was stubborn. Irritably stubborn.

I smiled slightly, lifting my eyes up slowly, but never reaching her face. "Actually, yes, but I don't think you'd take kindly to it," I answered quickly. "So…if you want, you can throw it away before students decide to riot and make copies of it." Before she could reply, I turned the page back to the one that'd probably get me in more trouble than usual and ripped it out.

I grabbed my books, walked to the front of the room, and handed the teacher the paper. Before she could look at, I darted out of the room, shouting back, "Nice class today, Teach! See ya tomorrow!" After my words, the bell rang, signifying dismissal.

I slowed to a walk when I turned the corner, heading to my locker. My text books held under my arm, I flipped through the pages of my sketchbook. My topics were all the same, too cliché for my likings. My thinking during class was right, I needed to find new scenery. Even though my family moved like there was no tomorrow, I had not found something that truly inspired me.

Although I lived in France, a place I'd be lucky to live in according to tourists, it never really appealed to me. Japan is where I truly felt like I belonged, where I was born and all of my descendants had lived. I would be there now, too, if my parents didn't drag me everywhere so fast I couldn't adjust because of job transfers. Sometimes I wished I could just pick a spot and just drop everything, just so I could stay there.

I opened my locker and in an instant, I was toppled over onto my back. "Gah, Salamon, what the heck are you doing here?! I told you, you have to stay at home!" I snapped in a hoarse whisper. I glared at the small, dog-like creature standing on my chest.

"And I told you I wasn't going to listen!" she replied back, smiling in a smug manner. "You gotta pay more attention, Rai!" Her cerulean blue eyes stared into mine, holding a bit of triumph in them, a typical thing to see in her gaze.

I let out a moan while knocking Salamon off of me and beginning to pick up my scattered books. "You have to obey me here. You're a Digimon, you can't just go wherever you please. If someone finds you, they may take you away and dissect you and use your remains to create a whole army of Digimon of mass destruction. And then it truly _would_ be the apocalypse." I eyed my small friend in slight humor as she stared back with a matching expression.

"Then all of the Digimon, being much more intelligent then you humans, would rebel and take all of humanity as our slaves. We make you buff our shoes and wax our Mercedes." She looked up at me as I got back onto my feet and shoved all of my books in my locker.

I pulled out my pack and slammed my locker shut, putting a padlock on it. As Salamon hopped onto my shoulder and then onto my head, I smirked and questioned, "Okay, one, Digimon don't wear shoes, and two, how could you afford a Mercedes?"

Pushing through the crowds of other students, who gave me mixed expressions, I heard Salamon reply, "You expect me to think of everything?"

I shrugged. "Pretty much." I paid no mind to all those around me. They found it normal that I had _something _propped on my head. But usually, it was your normal paper sailor hat decorated with my newest drawing inspiration. Besides, with Salamon's looks, she could pass for a dog any day. And no one knew whether or not I could sew stuffed animals.

She snorted. "Rai, you really expect too much from me. I don't normally find a reason behind wearing shoes, I just slip 'em on and drive away in my Mercedes." I heard her stifle a small laugh. "Not much to it, really." If I could see her expression right then, I knew I'd see her grinning her little puppy-like smile.

"If you say so…" I trailed off, pushing the school doors open and walking down the steps to the sidewalk. "By the way, where do you keep this Mercedes of which you're speaking?"

* * *

I had never given that much thought to why Salamon had entered my life a few years back, I just dealt with her ever-sarcastic presence and enjoyed the ride of life she gave. I figured no one should really know about her life here, just for my danger-proneness probably making it all go bad. And it'd probably end up with me falling down a couple flights of steps. That's how it always was. Salamon dragging me into something utterly demeaning and then I get my butt whipped by something that most likely could have been avoided.

This had all led to my "grand idea" of Salamon always bunking in my bed room. It wasn't exactly the best decision ever, since this little bundle of joy had an intention span lower than anything I could think of. So I either came home to a room completely demolished because she conveniently decided it was a good idea to and I quote, "Look through all my stuff", or I come home to no Salamon at all because she thought it was a pleasant thought to go on a little excursion.

So most of the time it was because of my little Digimon for my constant bad luck, as I dare call it. Even though I enjoyed her company, sure, but when Salamon was thrown into the mix, I felt that Fate had it in for me. Because I was most certainly sure that I wouldn't be where I am now if she hadn't been around to "broaden my horizons" as she called it.

And I'll openly admit that she had indeed rubbed off on me. I'm a fate-tempter, which was probably why it hated me so much. Because no, I don't stick my head in the noose so someone else can run free; I just stick my head in to see what will happen. And for all this, I had my dear friend Salamon to give my thanks.

But I wasn't nearly as bad at it as she was. That was the only good thing, because at least one of us still had the little voice in your head that tells you, 'er…is that the best idea? Now just be a good little person and put the crowbar down before you swing and hit the wrong thing.'

* * *

Walking down the sidewalk, I could see my house as soon as I turned the corner, just across the next street. It was neither my idea that I lived so close to school, nor was it that I lived in France. My father had one of those jobs were you were forced to transfer quite a bit, and thus, in just a little time, I saw more places than most people see in a lifetime. And they would be envious of this life; I'd be envious of theirs.

Salamon laughed, talking about whatever it was. "And so I said, 'buddy, where'djya get that rubber ducky?'"

I was pretty much half-listening to Salamon, as usual. And as usual, I had no idea where she picked up whatever she was talking about. It just happened some days. I'd come back from school one day and she'd be speaking Cantonese. I assumed it was from TV, but then she'd be singing some of the latest music only a few seconds later. Her newest favorite was Dirty Little Secret by All-American Rejects, taking pretty much every given moment to mention some of the lyrics.

"Rai! Rai! Rai! Rai! Are you listening?! Rai! Rai! Rai! Rai!"

"Yes, Salamon, I'm all ears," I mumbled, recognizing this as her attention-getting exclamation. She'd just say my name over and over again, cutting in with some other remark.

I could tell by her smug tone she was smirking triumphantly now. "Okay, so what do you think of this blonde joke? After class one day, the teacher goes up to the blonde and asks, 'what do you think is farther: Florida or the moon?' and the blonde just laughs and replies, 'heeelllo, can you see Florida?!'" Salamon almost fell of my head in laughter at her own, lame joke. "Hey, Rai, by the way, what's Florida?"

I let out a sigh, this being a typical concept. My Digimon tells me a joke and then asks me what it's about. Personally, I thought that rather defeated the purpose. "Florida is a place in the United States. It's shaped like a panhandle," I replied quickly, speeding up to a jog as I crossed the street. My eyes darted every which way, scanning for anything approaching. Caution always filled me in times like these, for anything fast-moving and sudden.

"I forget. Have we ever been to America?" Salamon hopped onto my shoulder, ready to go into my single-strapped backpack, knowing that if my parents saw her, namely my mom, we'd be forced to leave for the irrational thought that there were too many stray dogs in France.

I cast my eyes to the side slightly, catching sight of her bright blue eyes before turning back to the sidewalk before me. "Quite frankly, I honestly don't remember. Maybe New York, who knows?" I shoved my hands into my pockets.

And now, because of my words, came another one of Salamon's genius remarks. "_New_ York? Where's the old one? And why'd they get rid of it?" _Dude, you really got to watch the Travel Channel more often. Stop watching Disney and get educated for once. _

I shook my head in slight annoyance. "Salamon, you really are something, aren't you? Why can't you be like normal Digimon and just remain in the video games, anime, or cards?" I fingered what was attached to one of my belt loops, cold metal against my fingers.

"Rai, if you hadn't noticed, I'm not normal." I could hear her emotionless voice muffled from speaking through the material of my backpack. At least she knew the drill well enough to not be spotted by anyone or anything.

"Oh, please excuse my ignorance." I rolled my eyes, an action that agreed with my sarcastic statement. I let out a small grunt as I walked up the porch steps and opened the front door to my house, dragging my feet almost the entire way. I was rather irritated with this repetitive process. The walk to my house happened every day; sometimes I thought the conversations were exactly the same too.

The house setup never changed, despite every time we've moved, my mom tried to keep the furniture layout the same. So when I opened the door, I was confronted with the living room, walls painted a light tan.

I could see my mom from where I was standing. As usual, she was standing in front of the stove cooking. My guess it was some specialty of France, or at least sounded like it was. Our main dishes consisted primarily of French fries or French toast. Honestly, I didn't know what was worse: The food or my mom's creativity.

I was about to head upstairs to my room when my mom's voice emerged from the kitchen, "Oh, you're home, Shirai—" _You don't have to tell me that._ "—How was school? I know you're not fluent in French yet, but classes are okay, right?"

I dropped my backpack to the floor, hearing a 'guh!' kind of noise emerge from Salamon, and walked into the kitchen. I boosted myself onto the counter, banging the back of my head on the above cabinet in the process. Rubbing the area I was hit, I replied, "Yeah, sure. It's just fine, Mom—" I dared not mention that I did rude sketches of the teacher every day in Algebra class. "—I just…haven't really adjusted quite yet." I decided now was as good as a time as any to pop out my proposition. "Hey, by the way, since break's coming up, by any chance, can I fly to Japan to see my cous? It's been so long since I've seen him." Truly, this was the only excuse that came to mind when finding a way to Japan. And probably the only one she'd actually consider.

She began to ponder for a moment, thinking about my request with a substantial amount of silence. She was fully aware of how many times I've flown, but it was probably the idea of me falling back into my Japanese-speaking habit, and forgetting all of what little French I knew. Well, it wasn't like I really cared in the first place. I knew just enough to get by and as long as I got my three meals a day, I was just fine.

Before my mom could give her answer, I ran out of the room and grabbing my backpack, headed upstairs, calling down, "I'm gonna e-mail him! I'll book a flight for Friday morning, capiche? Write me a note for my teach for my absence!" I knew full-well that my mom would have an…ehem… "discussion" with me after dinner, discussing all of the *cough cough*… "necessities" of traveling on a plane alone and what to do in Japan, yadda yadda yadda.

I locked my bedroom door behind me and threw my backpack onto my bed, hearing another groan emerge from Salamon. I pulled out a chair and sat down, saying, "You can come out now, Salamon. No evil mother with a broom to whack you with." I grinned as I turned on my computer, the screen lighting up and humming quietly as it booted up.

The little dog Digimon poked out, an annoyed look plastered onto her face. "How long exactly was that sock in there? It smells kinda…rotten…no wonder you complained your lunch tastes weird every day. After being left in there till lunch, I'm surprised none of it has ever grown mold." She changed her expression to a look of disgust.

"You don't really wanna know where that even came from…" I spun around in my swivel chair and faced the computer. Placing my hands on the keyboard, I typed in my password, accessing my personal settings. From there, as I waited anxiously for my internet to connect, I opened up a scan I found on the web. With my index finger, I pointed to it, tapping on the screen lightly. "Okay, this is the main reason we're going to Japan."

Salamon took a moment to take in the scan, a scan of a newspaper clipping. "You want to see Shinjuku covered with red Jell-o?" she questioned. "Because if you provide the Jell-o, I can make Paris the same way if you want."

I crossed my arms, smiling slightly. "I'm sure you could." I zoomed into the scan to read the Japanese text. "But this here is a part of a newspaper from the D-Reaper catastrophe a few weeks back. It was said to have come because of Digimon's appearances. And so, it got me thinking—" Salamon cut me off.

"Thinking? That must be a new concept for you. How's that working out?" she questioned smugly, grinning at me in a taunting manner. This was a usual thing, finding something to mock me with in my own words.

I ignored her remark as I continued on unfazed, "It seems like all of the Digimon were coming from, or the dubbed word 'Bio-Emerging' there in Japan, so it appears that everything was in a way…centered around the Tokyo area. And since you're here, I figured it had to be for a specific reason. And with my heritage in Japan, in that very area, it only made sense to try to figure things out." I clicked on the E-Mail Outlook Express icon before turning to face my Digimon. "To find the soul reason you're here, besides to annoy me."

Salamon shook her head to my remark. "No, no. Annoying you's just a hobby. It's what I do in my spare time." _I'd hate to know what takes up all that other time. Probably a plot to take over the world or something._

I turned my attention to my computer, placing my hand on the mouse. "Whatever," I mumbled in reply, sorting through all of the useless e-mails I had and deleting them. I then clicked on the 'New Message' button and began to type.

* * *

The plane flight was rather dull, the movie being pathetic, the air on the plane smelling… rather weird, like most other planes I had been on, and the food being almost as uncreative as my mom's. I was actually glad to get off into the crowded airport to find my cousin. He'd called me to set up where to meet him. He said he'd be standing outside the restaurant just next to the airport, right out the front doors. Probably wanted to eat first chance he got. Typical.

I had retrieved my bag at baggage claim (I couldn't recall how I managed to fit everything in such a tiny bag with my mom making me pack more than extra) and then exited the airport. Immediately I took in the sweet Japan air I had always remembered while unzipping my bag just a crack for my probably already suffocated Digimon to get some air. I could hear some gasping noises, an overreaction on Salamon's part that signified she was really grateful I didn't forget about her.

I spotted the restaurant almost instantly and I trotted down the sidewalk toward it. I could make out two figures in standing in front of it, one of them I immediately recognized. So before I increased my pace to a sprint, I warned my Digimon, "Okay, you're lucky you're here right now. So keep up the excellence that this is actually working and when people are around, keep your trap shut and stay out of sight." I glanced at her for a split second before picking up speed.

One figure, the one I recognized, noticed me approaching. He turned my way, smiling the dorky smile I could easily remember from years back. "Shirai! Hey!" he yelled, now beginning to humiliate himself by waving both of his arms in the air.

Hey, I could care less how much he embarrassed himself on a daily basis, because it couldn't compare to me. "_Bonjour_, Tomato! Long time no see!" I yelled back, deciding to wave back. When I had gotten to him, instead of giving a greeting-I-haven't-seen-you-in-a-very-long-time-have-you-gotten-taller? kind of hug, I stopped short.

"It's Takato! Haven't I told you that a million times already?" he questioned, somewhat annoyed with the nickname I had given him a long time ago. But I could see pleasure of seeing me in his red wine-colored eyes.

I grinned at him, shrugging slightly. "Potato, pototo, tomato, Takato. Same difference," I replied back. Then, before I could say any more, curiosity got the best of me. I snatched the blue-lensed goggles off of my cousin's head. "Hey, fancy headwear, Tomato." I snapped them over my own eyes. "Yeah, pretty slick, buddy."

The second person, a girl with brown hair, one little clump put into a tiny little pigtail, and a green and yellow summer dress, looked at Takato before asking him, "Uh, Takato, who is this?" Her voice was light and rather carefree.

He used this chance to grab his goggles back, placing them back on his head, and then answered, "This is my cousin, Shirai. She _apparently_—" He pretty much spat out that word. "—wanted to come visit, get off of school, you know. That stuff." His voice was rather flat, almost annoyed, I could hear. Wasn't the warm welcome I was hoping for. "So…uh, Shirai Matsuki, Jeri Katou. Jeri Katou, Shirai Matsuki." _Dude, why'djya add last names too?_

Jeri smiled brightly. "Nice to meet you, Shirai!" She seemed overly excited in this concept. "So do you come from far away? You have a slightly different accent."

I was actually taken back a little by how well she could hear a difference in accents. To most, it was barely noticeable, since I always spoke Japanese, aside from in school, so it was my native tongue. "Yeah, I live in France currently. My family moves a lot, 'cause of job transfers, but I was born in Japan. Moving so much is a pain in the butt, so I decided to come back to Shinjuku for some R & R." Letting a small, mostly contented smile appear on my face, I cocked my head slightly to one side. "And by the way, call me Rai."

Suddenly, Salamon poked her head out of my bag, beaming wide. "Hiii! And you can call me Salamon!" she exclaimed energetically.

"Oh crap…" I shoved her back in my back and zipped it back shut in just about a second. I immediately aligned myself and straightened my posture, grinning cheesily. "Did I mention I was a ventriloquist?" _Well, that could have gone better. My response wasn't so great, either…_

Takato and Jeri seemed to perk up at this. "Was that a Digimon?" my cousin asked in mostly disbelief. I didn't think he really believed what he thought he saw, or what he was actually saying for that matter.

I felt panic begin to rise in the back of my throat and a ball of uneasiness settle in my stomach. This was a point of no return. "Uh…no?" I was mentally crossing my fingers that they would take my words and walk away with them. But it was Takato I was thinking about: did things ever happen with that kid the way you want them to? Answer: heck no.

Jeri seemed like the time to poke until you gave in, kinda just circle around you beginning, 'can I see?! Can I see?! Can I see?!' Well, sadly, I was correct, as she then questioned, "Well, can we see it? If it's not a Digimon, you'd let _uuuss_!" She clasped her hands together, making big, creepy eyes that could scare just about anyone. And I was in that majority.

"Dude, you're making eyes. Stop making eyes!" When Jeri complied, I continued, looking around slightly, "Okay, you guys have people you're not friends with? Because I just realized now that Tomato makes loudmouth friends."

Takato crossed his arms, sending me a look of annoyance in his crimson eyes. "I'm standing right here," he grumbled, more or less to himself. And I could see he noticed the small smile on my face that clearly said 'yeah, I know you're here. It's just the fact that I could care less that makes all the difference.' But then he suddenly took into true effect the meaning of my words. "Wait, we can't leave just yet. The reason I wanted to meet here is so we can eat!" Food. Doesn't that just figure.

I was tempted to facepalm, but I actually realized I was somewhat hungry myself. So going and getting a bite from a restaurant only like two yards away wasn't really all that horrible. "Alright, then." I grinned, pumping my fist. "No more French fries, bread, or toast! Betchya I'm gonna eat the most! At my haste, people'll stare! But since when did I really care?!" I couldn't help but laugh slightly at my rhyme, despite how corny it was.

Jeri, despite the immaturity in my words, laughed. "You sound just like Calumon!" she exclaimed, grinning. But immediately, for whatever reason, she caught herself and gasped, clasping her hands over her mouth. "I mean—" She cut herself off, turning to Takato.

I eyed her warily. "Who? You said 'mon'…does that mean…?" I trailed off, going into thought. _Had they been associated with the Digimon that appeared here weeks back? No, it's impossible. Takato doesn't have the intention span of a Tamer and Jeri…no, she's just not cut out for it…Dude, I think about this way too hard…_

Suddenly, Takato brightened up, his goofy grin back on his face. As Jeri opened the door of the restaurant, he lead me in, his hands on my shoulders and steering me inside. "C'mon, Rai, you think too much. Why don't we go in for a nice meal and get your mind off of everything we're not telling you—I mean, stuff. Take your mind off of _stuff_." _Takato, you're a terrible liar._

I dismissed the thought, already concluding there was something that he didn't want to mention. "Okay, if you say so…" But I didn't really have a problem with throwing those thoughts to the back of my mind when the aromas of good Japanese cooking filled me. It actually wasn't the crap you could buy in a box that you microwave for two minutes. It was actual, authentic Japanese food. The only thing I could say was, "YES! Thank God for Japan!"

We sat down, ordered, and when the food came, I couldn't stop myself from drooling a bit. Although how unruly that really was, I actually found a way to ignore the drool. Solution: Get rid of the food. That was a simple task. Between me and "accidentally" dropping some of my food into my bag, the meal was nothing more than a single raisin. And honestly, it could have been, because quite frankly, I missed raisins as well.

Takato and Jeri sat across from me. There was an odd tension between them, like some sort of static I could feel just by sitting there. I felt like my presence was obstructing them from normal activities. I knew there was something connecting them, seemingly more than just friendship. But I digress; I was reading far too much into other's affairs, namely my cousin's. So in conclusion, I had to stop being like Salamon and quit butting into things best kept secret.

I looked upon Takato, smiling slightly. I was nearly a mirror image to him, the same sandy brown hair, although mine was a bit longer, and the same facial curves and designs. But the only thing that set us apart was our eyes. His were a deep ruby color, like fresh raspberries (forget raisins, I want raspberries!) in the light, and mine, in contrast, were a crystal, icy blue. All of our relatives used to say that when we were littler, our eyes were the only things that were the divine factor in telling us apart. I was just glad no one made that mistake nowadays.

Oh yeah, and the other difference at this particular moment was he had rice stuck to his face. A lot of it. Anymore and he would have a beard. I couldn't help but laugh at this as I pulled out one of the sketchbooks I brought and a pencil, saying, "Tomato, do me a favor and don't wipe your face." I grinned as I began to run the pencil against the blank page quickly and effortlessly. In moments, the shape of Takato's face began to form on the paper, and then I began to add distinct detail.

After I was completed, I showed my work to those sitting across me. Jeri's face immediately lit up, and in laughter, she said, "You like to draw? You really are related to Takato!" _You didn't believe me when I said I was?_ "Takato draws so much, he created his own Digimon that—" She stopped suddenly. _She really does have a big mouth_. "That, um, almost seemed totally real! He's just that good!"

I was rather unimpressed. But at least I knew what to get Takato for his birthday: duct tape for when Jeri just won't shut up. "I'm sure. That kid has an imagination that can kill." I cast a small look to my cousin, resting my arms on the table, one of them propping up my chin. "And by this point, it probably already has." I tucked a stray clump of hair behind my ear, deciding to change the subject. "So what's been happening with you lately? Anything big happen in these last couple of months?" I knew prying would get me nowhere, but hey, it was fun to watch Takato squirm uneasily.

He wiped all of the rice off his face, most of it falling off onto his lap. "Well, you know, just stuff—" _Is this different from the stuff I was supposed to take my mind off of?_ "—I got detention a couple of times, had to write apologies to my teacher, Ms. Asagi, on a weekly basis…that stuff."

I nodded slowly, not really believing all of this. Well, actually, I did believe the academic things like getting in trouble with the teacher, since I did that all the time, but there was more 'stuff' than he claimed and I knew that from a gut feeling. _Or maybe it's nausea from eating too fast…_

"Rai, when we get back to my place and you get all settled and stuff—" _Is there a time when he doesn't say 'stuff'._ "—we can go sightseeing and whatever. And I can introduce you to some more of my friends," Takato stated rather plainly. Although the words themselves held the impression that he was excited, it was actually quite the opposite. He seemed to be drabbling on, like he was trying to make me interested in the things of his daily life. Well, I'd be staying here a while, so it wasn't like it didn't make any sense.

I shrugged, feeling rather indifferent. "Okay—" I stopped suddenly in my words, feeling movement in my bag. _Is someone getting a little claustrophobic? _I was annoyed for the chance Salamon could get caught by being careless. So in order for that movement to cease, I gave my bag a hard thud with a clenched fist. The rustling instantly stopped, so I assumed that either she got the picture or I accidentally knocked her out. "So…do you still have that bakery in Shinjuku?"

Takato nodded with the small, dorky smile he always had. Some said I had the exact same smile too, but something made me doubt that. "Yep. We've got our own specialty bread. It's based on the Digimon I drew up. It's Guilmon Bread," he stated, "It made the bakery much busier."

"Hey, Tomato, by the way," I began, unzipping my bag a minimal amount to feel if Salamon was still living. "What do you know about the D-Reaper incident? Like, I was just wondering…and stuff, because I knew it happened in Tokyo, so I was just curious."

He suddenly perked up, trying to compose himself. "Well, you know, my family was ordered to evacuate and so we stayed with Kai for a while…Everything was solved in a pretty short time, actually. But it was a problem that started with a program that just evolved over time. It was used to control the amount of Digi—I mean, data that was on the net."

I let out a small exhale, knowing that it was time just to get everything straight. "Cous, I have something to show you…but first, you have to answer me this one question: Are you DigiDestined?"

* * *

**There you have it, folks (who even bothered reading this). Please, it would make me happy to no end if viewers R&R! (just a suggestion! *hint hint wink wink*)**


	3. Chapter 2: Cupcakes…Why Cupcakes?

**Chapter two, baby! That took waaay too long to put out! I was caught up in my Frontier fanfiction and lost track of how long it's actually been since I posted a new chapter of this. Oh well, it's here now, so no problem! ^-^ And chapter three is almost done as well! Bullseye, baby!**

**Warning: Kazu may cause head trauma.**

* * *

Chapter 2: Cupcakes…Why Cupcakes?

Looking down at Takato from the top—and only—bunk in his bedroom, my legs dangling off the side, he questioned, "So what were you saying? Something about me being DigiDestined?" I assumed that he was ready to make another excuse if need be. Just by the look on his face, I could see the metaphorical gears turning.

I gazed down at him with a nonchalant expression. "Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. Are you or are you not a Tamer?" I asked seriously, my tone making my words a demand, a tone that I hardly ever used. "I don't want excuses, Matsuki, I want the truth."

"Okay, okay, _Matsuki_—" He used the surname with a certain attitude, since it was mine as well as his. "—I'll admit it. I _was_ a Tamer at one time, but…" He trailed off, turning his head away from me, a depressed hue in his wine-colored eyes.

"Wait, what do you mean 'was?' What happened?" I leaned forward, now kinda interested in what he had to say next. If he was a Tamer, then what about now? Did he have a Digimon? And where is it now?

Takato reached into his desk drawer and pulled out something, throwing it to me. I caught it in my hands and saw it to be a white and gold-trimmed D-Arc as he said, "Guilmon was my best friend… after D-Reaper, he had to leave. He had to go back to the Digital World. I promised him we would see each other again, but I don't know whether or not I can keep that promise…" He trailed off, his mood suddenly turning to something of a depressed tone.

I jumped down and walked to put my arm around him. "Don't worry, Cous. I'm sure you'll see him again. If you're really that close to Guilmon, nothing can stand between you and him. Sure time makes an impact, but it'll only prepare you for when you reunite," I stated, reciting the almost exact words of a book I read. I couldn't remember the name of it, however.

"Thanks, Rai. I didn't think you could conjure up words that were that enlightening," he replied, a small, grateful smile breaking onto his face.

I smiled back at him, shrugging my shoulders. "Eh, I drabble." My attention was averted away from my cousin when I heard some rustling in my bag, which was up on Takato's bed where I had once been sitting. "Hey, by the way, Tomato…" I clambered back up and opened my bag. "Say 'ello to my little friend."

In an instant, Salamon was out of my bag, gasping for breath in an eccentric way. "AIR! PURE, BEAUTIFUL AIR!" she shouted in such a manner that you'd think she'd be kissing the dirt. She then suddenly noticed Takato sitting there, watching warily. "Oh, so you're the vegetable that Rai's been telling me about! I was expecting someone more…you know…leafier."

Takato stared a moment. "Wait, Salamon…uh, does that mean _you're_ a Tamer?" His gaze turned to me, like I had two heads or something and his voice raised up to a very surprised squeak that could probably break glass.

"Yes sir, and Salamon's my little partner." I unclipped my Digivice from my belt loop and showed it to my cousin. Its black and white colors reflected the lighting in the room. "And unlike most Digimon, she prefers television over food. Unless it's some kind of pastry, that is. I'd recommend keeping her away from cake. Or doughnuts. Or creampuffs. Or just your bakery in general."

"I'll keep that in mind…" Takato seemed distracted by something; I assumed the thoughts of his own Digimon, Guilmon.

"Hey, I was meaning to ask you, Tomato. How many of your friends are—or were—Tamers? Was that girl…uh, what's-er-name…Jeri! a Tamer as well? She seemed to know about Digimon for what it's worth," I stated, trying to piece together what I knew about D-Reaper and this newly obtained information.

"Yeah, and we Digimon are worth a lot!" Salamon exclaimed, jumping onto Takato's head. "'Cause Rai would have no direction without me!" She put a proud look on her face, as if she just accomplished something major.

"As opposed to when? I hope you're not saying I have direction when you're around. You know how I feel about lying." I grinned back at my Digimon, wondering if she really did know about how I felt about not telling the truth. But then, after a moment of waiting for a response from Salamon I wasn't going to get, I turned back to Takato, questioning, "Well…?"

"To tell you the truth, Rai," Takato began, glancing upward at the little dog-like creature propped upon his head. Salamon looked down at him, returning his gaze with a playful smirk. "The majority of my friends are Tamers."

I raised an intrigued eyebrow at this piece of information. I brought myself to wonder if it was just like the TV show, thousands of DigiDestined all over the world, but no one truly aware of it until the most dire of moments. _Where was Izzy when you needed him? It'd be nice to figure out the exact number of Tamers here._ "Just how many, Tomato? Spit it out."

He sent me annoyed glance from the constant name-calling of the red vegetable/fruit. "Well, I know of…uh…There's three in my class…uh…" He scratched his chin, thinking a moment. _Forget which ones were Tamers, didjya?_ "Let's see here…" He began to count on his fingers, mouthing their names as he went along. "Nine! There are nine!"

I clicked my tongue, tempted to roll my eyes. "Took you long enough. And lucky for you, you didn't have to take off your shoes and socks to help you count." I crossed my arms, casting him a look that clearly said 'you and I both know you'd have to do that if the number got too high' as he tossed me a small, I'm-not-angry-with-you-just-a-bit-agitated kind of look.

But despite the awkward silence that fell between us, I immediately broke by suggesting, "Alright, since we got this far in actually obtaining information, can you take me to see the other Tamers?" I hopped down off the bunk, sliding on my shoes.

Takato seemed a bit hesitant on this as he asked suddenly, "Rai, what's the real reason you're here? You're not here just to see me, are you?"

I gave my cousin a small punch on the arm. "Nothing gets past your thick skull, does it? Well, you're actually not far from it, Cous. I wanted to see the results of D-Reaper, since I think that it may be the reason Salamon came to the real world. And even though D-Reaper only occurred in Japan, it affected the entire world. So…simply put, I went back to the source." I clipped my digivice back onto the belt loop of my jeans. "Didn't think I was that smart, didjya?"

Salamon beamed bright enough to be an easy match to the sunshine. "I sure didn't, Rai! You're always getting on your teachers' bad side, so—" I cut my little partner off before she could begin my life story and reveal my deepest darkest secrets.

"I don't believe I asked you."

"Oh, but I do!"

"Whatever."

* * *

Takato took me first to a little playground just a short walk away; I could see his school just about a block away. I saw lost of strange playground equipment, mostly those one would expect little kids to play on. Front and center, there lied a dinosaur. It appeared to be made out of stone and hollow inside with a couple of windows. Under it, I saw two kids right around Takato's general height playing the Digimon card game. The first one (who appeared to be winning, or at least cheating at it) had dark brown hair and wore a funky visor (he also had a shirt that had something similar to the Crest of Reliability on it, but he didn't see all that reliable). The second one appeared to be rather shrimpy, and had a mushroom-cut hairdo and glasses. He seemed to be the type to lose at every single game, every single time.

Takato led me over to the two nutbags and by this, caught their attention. But not until the weenie loser-kid began to complain that he, as I assumed, lost the game. Takato gestured to each of the two guys as he said, "Rai, these are some of my friends. They're both Tamers. That's Kazu Shioda, the one that's got a big head, and the short one's Kenta Kitagawa."

Kazu, the visor-wearing moron, immediately jumped to his feet and clasped my hands in his while saying in a very strange voice. "Hey there! You're Takato's cousin, eh?—" _Oh great, has the vegetable been talking about me?_ "—You're really pretty!"

I didn't exactly know how to respond to such disturbing words, knowing that there was no way in heck that this was in any way going to end well. _Unless I get to punch someone. That would be quite entertaining._ "Uh…thank you…maybe…?"

One of his hands snuck up to my back, making me tense and want to punch him all the more. "Now what do you say we leave these children to their immature games and go somewhere we can't be bothered. Whatdya say, Cupcake?" He did a little double eyebrow wiggle thing and was grinning in a very deranged way.

Just about a million alarms went off in my head at that moment. And so I did just what my gut told me to do: I punched him in the stomach. "I think I'll pass," I scoffed mercilessly, making sure he didn't get any closer to me than he already had.

But he couldn't anyway because he keeled over from the blow. "Okie then. Maybe some other time…"

"Uh, Rai, was that really necessary?" Takato questioned, eying me in both wariness and a substantial amount of confusion. Both over both of those emotions, the one that reigned most dominant was probably his amazement.

I nodded affirmatively. "Yes, yes it was. When creepy perverts attack, I take action. And it was Salamon that taught me this method of self-defense. Less words, more fist in face." I gave a small point to the Digimon perched on my head.

I couldn't see my partner's expression at that moment, but I was sure I felt the movement of a nod. "You have done well, young Padawan."

"You've been watching Star Wars again, haven't you?" If I would have been able to see my Digimon, I would've given her the look of 'Don't even bother answering, because I already know your answer'. Before she could give an answer, sarcastic or not, I questioned, "Oh yeah, exactly what are you guys' Digimon anyway?"

Kazu was instantly on his feet, probably giving the chance I gave for bragging rights. "My partner is Guardromon! He's super cool and awesome and powerful…and stuff!" _Wow, that was really creative; ever think of becoming a…a…creativist? Crap, I suck too._

Kenta piped up in regard to Kazu's remark about his so called 'super cool and awesome and powerful and stuff' Digimon. "Yeah, well, mine's MarineAngemon and he's super duper cool and awesomely awesome and really powerful and stuff too!" he chimed.

"Dude, yours is pink!" Kazu sent Kenta a glance that had the words 'do you _try _to be a moron?' written all over it. Well, first off, he himself should answer that. _Before _he can direct it to someone else. It's just the law of stupidity taking into effect here.

Kenta turned his head away in rejection of Kazu's statement, crossing his arms. "As a matter of fact, pink is a very masculine color! It symbolizes power and, uh…freshness."

I raised a vexed eyebrow at the kid I already assumed was dumber than a ten-pound sack of stupid. "Masculine? Kid, _I _don't even wear pink and I'm a girl. And guy-wise, I think all pink symbolizes is gayness."

"See, Kenta!" Kazu exclaimed, flailing his arms. "I told you pink was a gay color!"

"No, you didn't! You're just uh—" Kenta looked at me, with a confused look on his face, like there was a piece missing. But for him, it had to be the majority of the puzzle missing. "Uh, what's your name again?"

I sighed, trying not to whack him over the head. "Shirai. Just call me, Rai, 'kay?" I mumbled in exasperation, real wishing that I knew where the closest hole to jump in was right about now. Anything to get away from the dorkus twins.

He continued, as if that little interlude never had occurred. "No, you didn't! You're just saying that to be a kiss up to Rai!"

Kazu made a little chuckling noise, grinning to himself. "Ehehe, yeah."

* * *

A few hours later…

"Ya know," Takato began, his hands in his pockets and his gaze down to the sidewalk looking at the rock he was kicking with the toe of his shoe. His eyes were bright with enthusiasm. "We're really close to another one of the Tamers' places. What do you say we—" I cut him off before he could finish his question.

"Sure, whatever," I replied, shrugging. I had seen his expression that came onto his face for that split-second. It seemed to be a bit of…an eager look, a substantial amount of satisfaction one could get from a delightful little piece of chocolate.

Suddenly, it appeared on his face once again, along with a small reddening, of which Salamon apparently caught. "Tomato, what was that?" she questioned, nearly grinning floppy ear to floppy ear in her very special way.

Takato straightened his posture in an instant, putting a smile on his face that clearly said that he was hiding something, although I think that's just what the smile was supposed to deny. "What was what? I didn't see anything. Salamon, you silly goose!"

I couldn't help but stare a little at this last sentence, my jaw ajar a couple inches to express my outmost perplexity on his latest statement. "Okay, forget Salamon's question and answer mine: What the heck was _that_?"

Takato spat out words at a quicker rate than an auctioneer could possibly imagine going. "Ah, well, you know. A saying that they call someone being completely irrational and—" I cut him off, raising up my hand in front of his face and shaking my head.

"Two words, Tomato: Shut. Up." I glanced up at Salamon propped atop my head. "Yo, buddy, what do you call this? I'd call this here a classic case of insanity." I gestured toward Takato's confused expression. "Clear sign of too much time alone."

Salamon seemed to ponder the expression a moment. "Hmm, I think we have a little bit more here, Rai." She jumped down off my head and circled around my cousin, even though from her height, she could only look at his shins. "A dirty little secret maybe."

I sighed with her reference. "Again with that song? You're totally obsessed with All-American Rejects. Isn't there another band that catches your attention? Because whenever I come home from school, I always hear my stereo blaring, 'let me know that I've done wrong when I've known this all along…!' Mom always yells at me I'm wasting electricity." I sent a glare my Digimon's way. "I have you to thank for that."

She grinned back at me innocently. "You're welcome!" She then noticed Takato, who was sneaking away. "And YOU!" He jumped at her surprisingly booming voice. "We're not finished yet!" Despite how harsh the words seemed, her voice came out almost in a sing-song like manner, like it was someone saying 'we're not done making out yet, dear!'

I sighed in relative annoyance. "Tomato, FYI. Whenever she does that voice, you know something big is coming. So maybe you should jump in a war trench, pull out the barbed wire, and just prepare yourself for World War Three."

"Yep! I can be very annoying!" Salamon agreed in her happy voice, not even caring I'm insulting her emotion management. "How do you think Rai got where she is now? Impatient, tendency to yell, horrible sense of direction…and timing…and balance. Yep that was all me!" She then paused. "I'm a bad influence, aren't I?"

I stifled a laugh. "You _finally_ notice that," I said, ignorance in my voice. "You are implausible, that is another thing you should come to realize." But then I turned to Takato. "As for _you_. Salamon may be out of her twisted mind, but that's all the more reason to agree with her." I grinned in my very special way that was similar to Takato's.

He was taken back a little. "What's with…that _look_? Come on, Rai, you're creeping me out here." His face began to gain a strawberry-colored hue, knowing full well what I was getting at. "Well, if you're not going to answer me, we can go. I'll introduce you to the other Tamer later, when—" He was cut off.

"Which Tamer are you talking about, Gogglehead?"

I turned slightly, seeing a girl leaning against the stone wall that enclosed the property next to us. She had fiery red hair pulled back into a pineapple-looking ponytail with blonde streaks and piercing mauve eyes. Her lips were curved into a nonchalant expression, one that suited her appearance quite well. But apposing her rough looks, she wore a shirt with a big heart on the middle of it.

"Eh…if I said you, how would you react?" Takato questioned, slight nervousness cracking in his voice.

She shrugged. "Whatever." She turned her attention to me, lying her eyes upon me like I should be afraid. And quite frankly, I was slightly. She looked like she could beat anyone she wanted into a pulp. "You must be Shirai Matsuki. Nice to meet you." Her stern look turned to a small smile that took me by surprise as she held out her hand.

I gave a small smile back. "Rai, call me Rai." I outstretched my hand and shook hers. I was about to ask the seemingly spiffy girl her name when Takato _apparently_ felt the need to add something here. I_sn't that just typical?_

"Rai, this is the Tamer we were gonna go and see—" Notice how he leaves out that he was going to chicken out and leave. Aren't we all honest little angels? "—and thus, I want you to meet my dream girl, Rika Nonaka!"

The fiery girl, Rika, appeared to be a ticked off. She nailed him in the stomach, making him collapse to the ground. "I told you never to mention that dream again, Gogglehead!" I could almost see the smoke coming out in dark clouds out of her ears. That caused me to write a mental note to never get on her bad side. Ever.

Takato made a groaning noise. "How could I forget? You swung your leg at me like you were trying to take my head off."

Salamon laughed to herself at the scene my dear, dull-minded cousin was making, grinning from ear to ear; I could tell, even though I didn't pay attention to her expression, it was her tone that gave it away. "Veggie, you and your friends have girl troubles. I think you have to find better girls to hang out with—ones that can't do that much damage."

Rika was taken back a little bit by my Digimon's presence, a stunned look on her face and her eyes growing rather wide. "Wait, you're a Tamer? Takato never mentioned that." For a split-second, her amethyst-colored eyes gazed upon my cousin with a look of slight annoyance, but in the next moment, were back on me.

I shrugged, feeling rather indifferent. "Primarily for the reason he didn't know. I didn't know he was; he didn't know _I _was. Simple enough. But yes, you're correct," I stated, pulling out my D-Arc, unclipping it from my belt loop and holding it out. "Full-fledged Tamer. Or, well…amateur-fledged, whatever you wanna call it."

Rika looked me up and down, seemingly taking in whether or not I was Tamer material. She seemed like the type that would make a pretty good army sergeant, one that would make you drop and give her fifty if she saw one hair out of place. But then she smiled. "Welcome to the team, Newbie," she said, cocking her head to one side.

_She changes expressions pretty quickly depending on who she's talking to. Mental sticky note: Keep her happy and no problems will occur._ I shook the thought out of my mind, putting a small grin on my face. "Thanks." Something struck me. "But wait…" I turned to Takato, raising an eyebrow. "Why did you want to…?" I trailed off, smirking in realization. "Ha! You're really funny, Tomato! You like her, don't you?"

"I love it when people catch my drift…" Salamon noted with a seemingly contented tone, hopping back onto my head. "It's so much easier than explaining things…"

I watched as the hue of my cousin's face grew brighter in a cherry color. "Eh, no. But you know, it's getting late. Why don't we go? My mom's making…uh…food! C'mon, Rai, dinner awaits!" He grabbed my arm and pretty much yanked it out of the socket.

"Alright." My response put a relieved look on his face, but that soon changed when I then added, "Hey, Rika, want to join us? I'm sure there's enough food, with the way that the Matsuki family eats, there _has_ to be extra. So what do you say?"

Takato looked as though he just walked in one someone dressing.

Rika shook her head. "Sorry, I can't. I've got plans; my mom is performing one of her rare stay-at-home-cook-an-actual-meal nights." I couldn't tell whether or not her disappointment was real or just a mask hiding gratitude. It seemed as though it'd take a while to figure this girl out. She turned, holding her hand up as the cool version of a wave. "See you later."

As soon as Rika was out of sight, I turned to Takato smiling my cousin-of-a-gogglehead-but-close-enough smile. "She's cute, Tomato, very nice. Did you ask her out yet?" I questioned, probing him like a little satellite. I prodded him with my index finger.

"What? Why would I do that? It's not like I like her or anything. Sheesh, I think Salamon's bruised your head from jumping up there a few too many times." _What a lame excuse, Takato. Too wordy. It has to be breezy. That was not breezy…that was…I don't know, what's the opposite of breezy? Tell me that and I can answer you._

I put my arm around his shoulder as we headed back to his house. "Takato, you are a very interesting little person. I bet your friends are just as interesting. I should stalk you guys and just people watch you all day long. It'd be a very exhilarating experience."

He looked at me. "Not all my friends are weird, you know."

I shrugged. "I know. Rika's the cool one. But the rest, I'm betting my dollars, are morons. It's like a DigiDestined rule of thumb. You can only have one cool, level-headed one. But as goggleheads go, you don't really match." I removed my hand off his shoulder to cross it with the other as I gave him an as-matter-of-factly look.

"Where do you fall under the list?" He glanced at me with a puzzled look, awaiting my answer. I could see a small spark of interest suddenly appear in his eyes, probably for the fact I brought up a topic that included the Digimon anime.

"I'm the overconfident sports jock that once in a long while has a good, smart moment and enjoys a typical day of six meals." I bobbed my head in assurance of my words.

"Davis?"

"Sure, let's go with him. He's cute."

"Ugh…"

* * *

**And there you have it~! And btw, the song that Rai was complaining was blaring on her stereo was indeed Dirty Little Secret by AAR. I don't own the song, nor the band, but that's overly obvious. References to this band and song will be made periodically in this fanfiction, primarily when talking about my Jenrai pairing (Henry and Shirai, mind you. everyone else comes up with names with their OC pairings, so why can't i?) Anyway, R&R please!**


	4. Chapter 3: Accident Prone

**Sorry for the extremely late update. Because truth be told, I literally forgot about this story. I got very caught up in my Frontier fanfiction that it was the only one I've been working on for the past near-month.**

**But anyway, despite how long it took me, this was actually a somewhat fun chapter to write, since I'm not really going deep into the plot until a bit later in the story. So for now, it's pretty easy-going. But at least I got really good inspiration for part of the plot, although it was past midnight and the idea woke me up, and thus I had to stumble around in the dark trying to find something to write it down on. But whatever, now I'm babbling again.**

**Now I present to you chapter 3 of my Tamers fanfiction. Enjoy!**

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Chapter 3: Accident-Prone

"Do you _have_ to go to school with me? What if it turns out that by some twist of fate that you may be slightly smarter than me? What would Miss Asaji say?" Takato was stuffing a giant spoonful of Froot Loops into his mouth, milk dribbled all over his chin. Overall, he looked like a big moron that didn't know where his mouth was.

"_Because_," I answered, putting emphasis on my first word, while trying not to make not quite as big as a mess while I ate my own cereal, "I want to see what the schools here are like. Besides, what are the chances I'm gonna prove to be smarter than you?" I mentally calculated in my head. I had a couple more smart moments than he did in the last not even twenty-four hours I was here, but I assumed that was just luck.

Salamon gobbled up an entire piece of toast in a single gulp. "Yeah, Rai has a good point. I showed her the Charlie the Unicorn videos enough to deplete _anyone _of all their brain cells!" As usual, she seemed—no, she was proud: for sure—rather proud with all of her negative effects on me. That was definitely not something to be proud of.

"Grab onto our tongues, Charlie!" I called out uncontrollably, erupting into laughter. But that soon led me into a coughing fit from choking on the cereal I had forgotten was still in my mouth, hardly chewed. I pounded myself on the chest and forced it down. After I had composed myself, I smiled slightly. "Okay, that was so worth that near-death experience."

Takato seemed satisfied enough with that action. "At least I know now that I won't be outsmarted by a dumb girl who just so happens to be my cousin." He acted like he had a right to be ashamed of being related to me, like if Davis was related to Izzy or something. _Dude, I can see the resemblances just thinking about it…_

"The feeling is mutual, Tomato." I cast him a mocking grin, causing him to scowl in annoyance. I continued to put another spoonful of my breakfast into my mouth. "By the way, it's quarter to eight. Doesn't school start at eight?"

That did it.

All of the Froot Loops flew from his mouth, across the table. I could feel some spit/milk hit me in the face, which I immediately wiped off with a substantial amount of disgust, as he exclaimed, "You tell me this now? You shoulda said something like…I don't know, _before_!" He jumped to his feet and darted up the stairs to his room to change.

"Do you think we should tell him it's only quarter to _seven_?" I questioned, turning to Salamon, who was enjoying the rest of my cousin's cereal, figuring out that she can't exactly use a spoon so resorted to lapping up her newly-claimed breakfast. It had been her idea all along, and quite honestly, it worked like a charm, as did most of her other schemes.

Milk dripped from her chin as she looked up at me. "Naw, he'll figure it out when he has to climb over the fence just to get into a locked school." She saw my look that said 'you're a real jerk sometimes'. She answered my gaze, "Hey, you went along with it, too, ya know." And then went back to eating her breakfast in peace.

* * *

As Takato was having a heart attack that he was going to be late and darting to school at just about fifty miles an hour, leaving me and Salamon (who had "conveniently" decided to slip into my bag) in his dust. But, spotting his school, Yodobashi Elementary, in the distance, memorizing the name of the street it was on, I decided to run around the block. Had to stay in shape for track next season, even though it was not until April of next year that it started.

I ran not only for the sheer enjoyment of the sport, but for the time I got to think about stuff. Whatever that just randomly popped into my head or something that was bothering or concerning me. It was a time of silence, an enjoyment I received without even having to open my mouth and insert a word of any kind. I just took in the weather of the day and the smells and sounds of my surroundings, sight never really putting much of an effect in, aside when I was trying not to get hit by anyone or anything. It was like I went into my own word of solace and serenity.

Salamon poked her head out of my bag, disrupting my running-trance. "Rai, why didn't you put your iPod in here? It's not a daily run without running with the All-American Rejects," she stated as-a-matter-of-factly. "You should know that by now."

I shook my head, saying nothing, my eyes scanning the area before me but not really taking anything in. My quietness was an unfamiliar thing for Salamon, mostly for the fact she never really went with me all that much when I went running, but also for the fact I normally always had a response to all of her comments. But she just shrugged it off and disappeared within the depths of my bag, lost within all of the crap I had shoved in there for reasons I wasn't really sure of. Once, I had found a cleaning sponge in there. I wasn't sure where the heck it even came from.

Smelling the sweet scent of the sakura the dotted the street, I found contentment in the world around me. Japan was just how I remembered it—no, better, much better. I saw nature in a clearer and more understanding view than I was younger. I never appreciated it until now. The stupid cities were destroying nature, growing and enveloping it all. In a way it is like D-Reaper, misguided intentions eventually destroying the root of all life. At first the gesture seemed harmless, but then it grew into a problem that caused so much desolation before it was fixed. Knowing this makes one be grateful for all the little things in life.

I wiped the small beads of sweat that were beginning to form on my forehead, my short bangs having swept over it sticking to my moist skin. Making a small gasp for extra breath, I turned the corner to the stretch back to Takato's school. That run wasn't enough for my training methods, but gave me the satisfaction of seeing part—or at least a block— of the neighborhood. Eventually, I told myself, I would somehow con Takato into going on a nice long run with me. He needed to get a tan anyway with his bed sheet white skin.

"Okay, Salamon," I began, drawing my Digimon's attention and making her pop her head out of my bag. "Don't try anything here at Takato's school. I don't want to be kicked out because of a "runaway dog" again." I gave her a hard stare, locking gazes with her round eyes.

"That happened one time, Rai! And that was not my fault! Your teacher just looked like she needed to get some fresh air!" she replied, making the same excuse she made every single time this conversation came up.

I made a little, sarcastic 'mmhm' noise. "And so you pushed her out a window. I don't think that really applies to one of your classic little uh-oh's. That just really wasn't one of your best plans altogether, Salamon."

My little dog Digimon sighed in annoyance. "All right, Rai, I'll behave just this once. But no show-and-tell with little kids! I'm not dealing with that again! Let the little people pinch my nose again and I'll throw a hissy you'll never forget!"

I laughed at the memory of a bunch of preschoolers practically tearing Salamon into pieces, all wanting to touch her cute little button nose for whatever reason drove little kids to do such. "Okay, I won't give the little bombers a new stuffed toy if you don't get me banned from a school that I don't even go to. That seems like a treaty we can keep, right?" I waited for a response that didn't come. "…Right?" It was my turn to give the sigh. "Uh, why don't I take your silence as a good thing? It gives me this strange assurance that you're going to blow something up again."

She let out an evil laugh that near scared the crap out of me, grinning in such a way that I'd only expect from a homicidal maniac. "Don't worry, Rai! This won't affect you at all! Only your stalker who just happens to be following you right at this moment!"

I spun around, not really sure if I wanted to get her point. "What?" And as if right on cue…

"CUPCAKE!" _What have I done to deserve such merciless torture? Like everything else, I'll blame this on Takato…_

He nearly mauled me over with the momentum behind the all-out sprint he was in. And to top that off, he put me into this really suffocating vice of death. I hated that kind of close contact, especially from a dude wearing a visor and olive-colored pants. It was beginning to lead me to believe that he was dealing some drugs or something, and he was just waiting for me to make shifty eyes and ask him, 'Where're the goods?'

"Holy cheese, where did you come from?" I questioned, not sure whether or not my question was rhetorical, my eyes practically bulging out from my face. Luckily, that didn't actually happen. I would have no idea how to fix that if it happened.

"The depths of hell," Salamon mumbled loud enough that I could just barely hear. A little snicker soon followed her words. But I didn't blame her; her irrational theory actually appealed to me as full all-out truth. Only someone like him could come from somewhere like that.

"And he brought all his drugs with him…" I grumbled back, noting how strange Kazu smelled at that moment. Though he didn't smell like drugs, the scent did remind me of this one cleaning agent that I was allergic to. "Okay, you creeper," I said, trying to pry myself away, "moment's over. Get the heck off." I mentally added, _'Kay, I lied. There was no moment at all whatsoever. You're totally delusional, and do I dare say obsessed?_

He released, seemingly reluctantly, and started grinning like the scary little stalker he was. "Do you know what Takato told me?" he asked me, making me seem all the more nervous when his smirk grew when he spoke.

"Something he shouldn't have that's gonna get me killed in the end?" I responded, cussing a little in French under my breath._ Some of the first words I pick up in a language are always the bad ones…I wonder whose fault that is…_

He seemed to not even hear my last rhetorical question. "He told me you were coming to school today! You'll get to spend the whole day with me! ANNND Takato also said I could walk you to—"

I didn't let him finish his last sentence. I let out a loud get-away-from-me-you-sick-twisted-pervert-I'll-never-let-you-near-me-ever-again-cuz-you're-a-drug-dealing-sicko scream and took off running back to Takato's school in a full sprint. Maybe I should start bringing pepper spray with me with me when I go running… _My grandma was right, strange dudes do go after girls when you're out running…_

* * *

I walked through the school gates into the schoolyard, looking about. There was a soccer field immediately to my left and the doors to the school were a distance off to my right. And coming from them, I began to notice, was one very, very annoyed little vegetable. I could assume that that was my fault. Oops.

He seemed rather ticked off by the looks of things. "You think you're really funny, don'tchya?" He sent daggers at me through his glare, but him being the little tomato he was, didn't look at all that serious, even with a deathstare.

"On occasion, yes," I replied rather flatly. I looked at the nearby clock. "Oh, just so you know, it's not time for class yet." I pointed with a single finger to the clock upon the school wall. "Oh, that's probably why you're ticked off…hehe, oops. I'm guessing 'my bad' won't cover it, will it?" I gave a cheesy, gogglehead grin. "Uh…should I start running?" I didn't wait for a response and took off running into the school building.

I found Takato's classroom rather quickly. It was just up the stairs and just right there. Five number two was written on the sign-thingy in front of the door. And as I walked in, I had the crap scared out of me by a yellow blur.

"Woof! Woof!" I heard a girly giggle as I noticed Jeri a mere yard away from me, a big grin on her face. She seemed very delighted with my arrival, much to my displeasure. She scared me as it is and now she was going to be in the same room as me for the majority of the day. That was so not cool.

"Uh…what?" I gave her a look of confusion as I saw what was upon her hand. A creepy hand-puppet that was supposed to look like a dog or puppy or at least something of that sort. "Um, what the heck is that, dare I ask?"

She again giggled, making me try so very hard to not outwardly shudder. "It's your new best friend, Rai! Woof! Woof!" She beamed a bright, cheery smile. She was one of those people whose eyes disappeared when they grinned. But then she suddenly looked around while holding her hand up in such a way that gave the appearance that the hand-puppet was searching with her as well. "Hey, where's Takato?"

"Uh, well, he should be coming any minute, but I'd recommend you stay off his bad side…" I gave a smirk while rubbing the back of my head. "Ya see, I kinda…well, he'll tell you if he really wants it known…" She gave me a vexed look of which I replied with simply, "Will 'long story' cover it?"

"Uh…I guess." She blinked a couple times, emphasizing her outmost perplexity. She suddenly beamed and grabbed my wrist. "C'mon, you can sit next to me! I'll fill you on all our lessons so you know exactly what's going on!"

It was my turn to be confused. I let the uncertainty follow through and come onto my facial expression. "But wouldn't it make more sense if I was sat next to Takato? Where does he sit in comparison to you?" I looked around for nametags or something posted on the desks, but saw none anywhere. I shrugged and dismissed the idea.

Jeri turned and pointed toward one of the desks in the back. "He sits right there next to Kazu."

"'Nuff said. I'll sit by you. God help me if I sat back there."

In fifteen minutes or so, after an annoyed Takato arrived in class, we explained my situation to the teacher, Miss Asaji. She seemed pleased enough to see me, but was instantly warning me that I better be more mature than my cousin, and looks better be merely deceiving, meaning that I better not act just like him just because I look scarily similar to him. I merely smiled and replied I'd try my best to stay in line. I wasn't really sure if that satisfied her or not. With some teachers, it was just hard to tell, and she was one of them.

So when all of the students piled in for class, I found myself (as I normally was when I was a new student in school, a familiar feeling of nostalgia here) stared at by kids with weird looks on their faces like I had two heads or something. I grew to ignore the glances, because I got them so much from transferring schools so often, they just became really annoying. At first, however, the stares practically scared me to death.

"Class, will you please give me your attention for once? We have a guest with us today." _Great, no matter where I go, that always happens. I'm gonna have to go up there, aren't I? Gah, I hate this stupid ritual. Is there a country that _doesn't_ do that?_ "Will you come up here please, Shirai?" _I knew it._

I sighed and put a fake smile on my face, following through the motions that I always did when being introduced to a new class. This was all the same to me, just different people. I did my little bow toward the class, my hands folded before me. "_Bonj_—er, _konnichiwa_. I'm Shirai Matsuki, but I prefer the name Rai. I'm Takato's cousin if you can't tell by the resemblance." I gave a half genuine grin. "But don't worry, I'll keep him in order while I'm here."

And here came the general questions from the teacher that I got quite often. "Rai, where did you live before you came to Japan?" Miss Asaji asked. _A typical question. I think that just may be the most common question I get._

"I lived in France, but I travel often. My true heritage lies in Japan, though." I looked over at Takato, who became a little red to the face when I had mentioned his name. And at the same mentioning, I noticed some kids looking back and forth between us, with an 'oh!' look on their faces. Honestly, it made them look like morons. More than they probably were. But actually, some students surprised me with their lack of wit. "I hope to stay here to get reintroduced to the culture my family's lived in for generations."

"Well, I hope you enjoy for your stay here, Shirai." Miss Asaji smiled sweetly at me and I returned to my place next to Jeri. In the brown-haired girl's eyes I could see a sign that congratulated me in a job well done in introducing myself, and I returned the look with a smile of my own. _Well, that was simpler than normal…_

When first period had been done, the students of five number two were dismissed to the locker rooms to change into gym uniforms. When I saw what the girls were forced to wear, I could have passed out. The shirt I could deal with; they were just a simple polo t-shirt. But the shorts—if I can even call them shorts—were skin-tight and really short. I could have easily mistaken them for the bottom piece of a bikini. And anyone that would wear a bikini in PE was insane. **[Seriously, look at their PE uniforms in episode 2! Holy crap! When I saw what Jeri was wearing the first time, I near wet myself.]**

I crossed my arms and scowled. "Miss Asaji, I'm normally okay with whatever attire a school requires, but this is going over the line. I'm sorry, but I simply refuse to wear that," I stated, holding the polo in my arms, but just staring down at what they called shorts lying on one of the benches in the girls' locker room. "If it isn't all that much trouble, could you get me a guy's shorts?"

Miss Asaji sighed, probably already getting slightly annoyed with my tomboyish nature. I bet she knew disaster was coming as soon as I said I was related to Takato Matsuki. The surname had said it all. "Alright. I'll go to the storage room and see if there's an extra pair in there…" Sighing again, she walked out of the locker room, the door banging behind her.

Jeri's little friend, Miki, walked up to me with a rather surprised look on her face. "Rai, you are the bravest person I have ever met," she stated rather flatly, though that may have been because she was so surprised.

I gave her a slightly WTH look, focusing my attention more on her words than her facial expression. I raised my eyebrows, my mouth slightly ajar. I then decided to question out my confusion in the simplest way I knew how, "Uh…what?"

Jeri joined her, grinning her normal smile that makes her eyes disappear. "Everyone here knows how Miss Asaji's temper is. So no one was stupid enough to ever ask for different shorts! Congratulations for being the dumb one to actually get what she asks for!" she congratulated, more or less taking me by surprise.

I still wasn't sure why they were so excited about my…uh, "accomplishment". "Uhhh….'kay. I'm glad I could…um, get shorts?" Honestly, I didn't really know what their deal was. I requested something and received it.

_What is the big deal about it? Shows how well I know what goes through the minds of Japanese girls…_

_

* * *

_

"Okay, for warm-up I want to see four laps people! Let's go! Let's go!" Miss Asaji blew the whistle hanging from her neck, motioning the entire class to make their way around the track. It was of the same size that I was used to, four hundred meters all the way around. That meant for warm-up she wanted her students to run a mile. This was with no stretching or anything. That meant having plenty of energy for the laps. _Oh, how I'm going to enjoy this…_

And I did.

"C'mon guys! Pick up the pace! I don't think we have all day! Yee!" I wasn't running the warm-up, I'll admit that. But I'll also admit I was pretty much skipping. I'd easily confess that many things could happen when I had extra energy I could just throw around. When I hit my peak of superfluous energy, it'd be a very bad idea to lock me in a confined space. Actually, I digress; it's a bad idea to do that to me on _any_ occasion.

"Wait for me, Cupcake! I'm coming!" Kazu was on my tail—skipping, to be completely honest, or at least trying to—trying to wave me down by flailing his hands in almost a windshield-wiper motion. But I had noticed earlier, right before we began the warm-up, that his shoelaces were tied together. And by the expressions on the guys of the class's face, I could easily assume it had been done on purpose. But it wasn't like I was _against_ it or anything. I was laughing along with the guys.

He was in the middle of saying something else, something I don't really think I even wanted to hear it in the first place, so I had the satisfaction that I didn't. And then he made one false step, doing a mid-air three-sixty (add more skill, and it would have been a barrel roll) and then faceplanting into the ground, only to be run over by the following students who had absolutely no idea what just occurred at that instant.

All the students—aside from Kazu—erupted into laughter, mocking him for his failed attempt at scoring points with "the new girl", as they called me (should've seen that one coming). I found myself laughing along, only causing me to be filled with more energy. I picked up the pace and sprinted the last couple of laps. I found that I was hardly exhausted (maybe it was all of the Gatorade I drank the night before) afterwards, even when hearing that we were going to play rugby. I wasn't a big fan of the sport, overall, but just playing it in Japan made it seem like a completely different—and more exhilarating—experience.

* * *

For the fact that so many casualties had occurred, the game pretty much went a-bust. Although I found that getting hit with the ball in the head periodically actually turned out to make the game all that much better. I think it may have damaged something in my brain because of all the blows to the head I had received. But nonetheless, because of that temporary insanity, somehow managed to convince Miss Asaji to let us have all-day PE class. But maybe _that's _why there were so many casualties in the game…

But after the school day had come to a close, we all piled in the locker rooms, changed, and I followed Takato back into the classroom so he could retrieve his stuff. And this made me assume that I either didn't know the school very well or he found a really good way of ditching me without my notice, because one minute he was in the classroom, and then the next minute…well, simply put… poof.

"Ugh, Takato, thanks for waiting for me…" I grumbled, throwing my backpack on, and darting out the door. I sprinted down the steps, but lost my balance (stupid accident-proneness…) and not only got a face full of floor, but caused someone else to as well. All of my sketch crap fell out of my backpack, as did a very confused and annoyed Salamon.

I rubbed my head, collecting myself and what little bearings I had. "Sorry, I wasn't watching. My legs were moving faster than my brain, as usual…" I then realized I was pretty much drabbling to myself, since my voice had automatically moved to small murmur the very instant that I laid eyes upon who I collided with.

He had shiny, perfectly organized navy hair that flowed all in one direction. A soft, emotion-bearing face with faultless skin that held a slight olive tinge (Asian descent possibly). But what struck me the most was his salient, silver-hued eyes. They were clouded with such sentiment, I could read his feelings by a simple glance. Though a simple glance wouldn't be enough for any satisfaction, I found myself hypnotized and gazing deeply into those diamond-shaded orbs as if it would gain me passage into his heart and soul.

I heard Salamon let out a whistle, of which I never knew she should do until that moment. "Who's the sexy bluenette?"

I felt my face heat up as if I was sitting inside a volcano. Salamon had just summed up all my thoughts into four simple words. I couldn't have cared less that she was just sitting there out in the open; it was like time had just stopped at that very moment when we locked eyes. A nuclear bomb could have gone off and I wouldn't have noticed, nothing around me came noticed to me. We just continued to watch each other without an extra bat of the eye wasted.

But it actually took a while for the idea to sink in that I was staring. No, that's not it. I was totally _gawking_. "Uh…I'm really, really sorry." My voice only came out as a peep and I noticed that I had already apologized. I strained to put a smile on my face as I scrambled to pick up all my crap, shoving Salamon into my bag as well. I pretty much jumped to my feet, threw my backpack on, and darted out of the building, nearly having to hold my head straight forward to keep from looking back at him. _Why did all of the cute guys have to be the ones I meet by humiliating myself?_

_______**

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**_****

I had so much fun describing Henry in this, although I wish I would've added more to his description. But nonetheless, Salamon describes him in four words, so I shouldn't be talking. Though please R&R, I want to know what you guys think of this fanfiction! ^-^


	5. Chapter 4: Just a Hint of Humiliation

**Well, this took way too long to get out. Well, thanks for all of those people who read and review this. I know it's hardly developed yet, plot-wise, but I promise it will get better as it goes on. And now, this note aside, here's chapter four!**

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Chapter 4: Just a Hint of Humiliation

"Where were you, Rai? I waited for you, but I never saw you," Takato stated, crossing his arms and giving me a look that clearly said that he was irritated that he was waiting for a very long while before going home and realizing that I was already there. That was just his luck that that would happen.

I realized my mistake, why I never walked home with him, and how this whole conversation came to being. The thought made my face grow pink. "I found my own way home is all. I thought you already left, since I couldn't find you. You literally went, ya know, puff. And then you were gone." I imitated his pose of arms crossed and a scowl.

"Let's leave it at this!" Salamon cut in, being in a much better mood since she saw 'the sexy bluenette'. I assumed she was hoping that he may have a sexy Digimon partner. _Pfft, what are the chances of that? _"You both screwed up! And now, that settled, let's turn on the tube and get something to eat!"

I lightened my gaze to a small smile. "That's not a bad idea. Wanna order pizza, Tomato?" I questioned, debating whether or not I wanted to get stuck paying for something that I'll only eat a small portion of. "You could invite one of your two girlfriends over. I'd recommend that that Nonaka-girl, Jeri scares me with that hand puppet."

Takato blushed a strawberry color. "That's okay, we can take down an entire pizza ourselves." He walked over to a table and tossed me the phonebook and phone. "Order up, Rai." He tried to force out a smile as he walked out of the room, officially ending our conversation. But then he called out, "I'm gonna ask my parents for some money to pay the delivery guy."

I flipped quickly through the phonebook, looking for the delivery section. From there, I dialed the number (which was 555-5555, sometimes it was easy to forget the five) and ordered whatever I felt like eating, forgetting to ask Takato what he wanted on it. But I merely shrugged, thinking _If he doesn't like it…well, more for me._

After I had hung up, I plopped myself on the couch and was about to turn on the TV when I realized Salamon had both the remote _and_ the TV guide. I scowled. "Don't I get to pick what to watch today?" I questioned, my voice pretty much in a whine.

Salamon shook her head, clicking the power button of the remote with her paw and flipping to a channel. "Nope, 'cause I've already found something I wanna watch," she replied, caring not to ask my opinion. But ironically, the show she turned on was Digimon. It was a season two, episode one or two I assumed. I had seen it just about a million times, but just like this time, I laughed every time Izzy shouted out, "Get off! You're squashing my brownies!"

I propped my chin up on my knuckles and sighed. "Ya know, they should have another season of this show. One about the Tamers and D-Reaper and stuff, that'd be awesome. They could call it…" I paused to think for a moment. "DIGIMON TAMERS!" I gave Salamon an I'm-a-total-genius smirk, who in return merely groaned. I then jumped up onto the couch, grinning and pointing upward. "It'd be an anime of sheer awesomeness! With our Digimon partners, D-Reaper will be a synch!" I pulled out my D-Arc and held it up to the heavens. "Wapaw! DigiModify!" I then lost my balance and fell off the couch with a thud.

Salamon laughed at me. "You really _do_ suck as a Tamer!" she blurted out, erupting in hard laughter. "But don't worry, Rai, I still love you! I keep you around for the laughs."

"That makes me feel really good inside, Salamon. Just knowing that I'm just here to be your entertainment; that single statement gets me right here." I thudded my chest over my heart, but hurting myself in the process, so concluding by rubbing myself. "I just wanted you to know that. Owww…"

Suddenly, catching my attention, I heard the doorbell ring. I just kinda stared at the door like it was going to do something by itself. "Either the delivery guy is _really_ fast, or they just put the pizza in a catapult and just launched it over here. But that still doesn't explain why it was able to ring the doorbell," I mumbled, pretty much just blabbing to myself about complete idiocy while making my way over to the door. I pulled out my wallet, noting how Takato didn't come back with money like he had said he would, and opened it to find some spare bills and whatnot.

I opened the door and then, about to say something, I stopped short. Either I had really amazingly scary luck in choosing a pizza place to order from, or this was not the pizza delivery guy. By some chance, I came to lean more toward the second option. And this was supported mainly by the fact there was no pizza box. _Or maybe he decided he was hungry and ate it on the way here…Stop thinking! Pay attention! Dude, I really gotta get a grip._

"Uh…hello…?" I managed to find a way to cower behind the door, in a way that only showed my head and my hands, of which were gripping the door so hard they were beginning to turn white. I held up a single finger. "One moment…" I then darted back into the house, calling out, "Tomato! Tomato! I have a situation! TAKATO!"

Takato walked into the room casually, like there was absolutely nothing to be worried about. "What? Some of us are trying to ignore you, ya know." He then realized what he just blurted out and then grew completely silent.

I merely scowled, and grabbed him by the shoulders, swerving him in the direction of the door. "I honestly don't care right now. But there's someone at the door that is _not_ the pizza guy! Go see what he wants!" I gave him a hard shove in the direction of the door to get him walking. "Lemme know if all ends well!"

With Takato taking care of the situation, I made my way to that little entry-room-thing that not only had a backdoor, but also stored all of the day-old and as Takato put it, the day-old-day-old bread as well. So on my way out, I grabbed some croissants (shoving a couple in my pocket for later consumption) and then headed out the door. I was only a couple steps out the door when a voice came screaming for me.

"Rai! Get back here! There's someone I need you to meet!" _Honestly, Tomato, how stupid do you think I am? Okay, you might not want to answer that question. Actually _I _might not want you to answer that question._ "It's a Tamer!"

I stopped abruptly. _Dude, Salamon is good…_ "Alright, if you want me to humiliate myself repeatedly, then fine…" I mumbled, in a tone only my own ears could hear, spinning around in a three-sixty and heading back in. Nibbling on a croissant, I made my way back to the other door, finding no use in having to pretty much do nothing more than pace back and forth all over a house that's not even my own.

I walked back to the front door, half of the pastry jammed in my mouth, making sure to put a rather annoyed expression on my face. "You know exactly what to say when to say it, don'tchya, Veg?" I questioned in a very irritated—yet still managed to seem flat—tone. I grabbed onto a part of the croissant that wasn't clenched between my teeth and ripped it off, chewing the part that was in my mouth. "And it seems I can't even fit a proper response in edgewise."

He gave me a look that said that he wanted to roll his eyes, but it just wasn't worth the effort. And he probably knew by now that it really wasn't. "Anyway, this is my friend Henry Wong. He's a Tamer as well," Takato stated, as if that whole little sarcastic comment of mine never even occurred, giving me a look that clearly stated 'There, you happy now? I found you another Tamer'. "And this is my cousin—"

"Shirai, right?" Henry cut in, smiling a sweet smile that just lit up the entire room, his eyes shining like millions of stars. He held out his hand, staring me right in the face with that mesmerizing smile of his.

I realized he was actually asking _me_ about my own name and then tried to smile back—failing. Failing miserably.—, and shook his hand. It took me a few moments to take into account that my hand was actually trembling. "Uh-huh, that's me. But how did you know?" I questioned, a vexed expression taking over my attempted smile.

Out of his pack, he pulled out a small book with a broken spine. I instantly recognized it as one of the many sketchbooks I carried around with me, one of my oldest ones at that. The cover was a plain wood brown color with a small sketch of an iris in the bottom right-hand corner, and inside were tattered pages of my drawings, only a few of the pages still blank and begging to be used. "You dropped this back at school. I saw your name in it and decided to bring it to you." He handed it to me and his smile somehow grew even brighter. So bright I knew the sun would be jealous. If it wasn't already.

I dropped my head slightly as I took the sketchbook in my arms, hiding my eyes and the blush that was beginning to fill my cheeks. Instead of humiliating myself more than I already was by saying nothing, I decided to reply with the first thing that came to my mind. Actually it went past my mind and just right out my mouth. "_Merci mon amour_…"

At that particular moment, when I had actually taken into account what I had actually said—'thank you, my love' to be completely exact—I felt Henry's stare of uncertainty drive into me. I figured Takato had no idea what that meant, aside from maybe 'merci' meaning 'thank you', since I didn't hear any response come from him at all whatsoever. And for Salamon, I _could _only wish it was the same way, but I already knew for certain that it wasn't. She had been living with me in France for some time now, so she had to have picked up at least a conversation-worth's amount of phrases, especially with all the television she watched.

I was flogging myself mentally for saying something so dumb, so thoughtless. I could have assumed Henry knew exactly what I said, he didn't look all that ignorant in the least. And all in all, I was pretty sure he knew what the word 'amour' meant, so to expect a look that could have at least said 'what did you just say?' should have been expected. But the problem was, however, I was too scared to look up at his face.

I felt a cheesy smile that clearly said 'Just ignore that, I'm a moron, so you shouldn't expect anything less' sneak its way onto my face. Finding myself at a loss for words, I just let a small "uhh…" as I stole a look at his face and then darted to God knows where, hopefully somewhere where Henry wasn't. But in my haste, I found myself tripping over a Salamon caught up in laughter and getting a face of the floor.

"Yeah, thanks, Salamon. I owe you for picking this particular place at this particular time. Remind me to buy you a medal," I grumbled, my voice muffled from my face being pressed to the floor, not bothering to really move. All I could see was blackness, but at least that was better than facing Henry face-to-face. I only have to humiliate myself a little more and I could call myself one of those circus clowns that always purposely make a fool of themselves.

"No problem…" I heard the reply come from under me. She sounded like she was actually really in pain, or just faking it so I could get off of her all that much quicker. Nonetheless, her annoyance was inevitable and couldn't have come unnoticed by anyone, not even a deaf person.

I pretty much had to unpeel my face from the wood flooring, since I felt little beads of sweat on my face sticking, since either I was blushing that madly or my heart decided to go into a state of overdrive. But I moved my arm around and pulled my hair out of my face. I put my hands under me and heaved myself up to a half lying, half crouching position. "That could have gone _so_ much better…" I mumbled to myself in a tone no one else heard. Or at least I hoped not.

Behind me, I heard light footsteps gradually growing louder. In what merely seemed like a blink of an eye—though I had a tendency to doze off at random moments—Henry was standing before me and offering his hand—and a growing more charming smile—to me to help me up. Even though I felt my face becoming tomato-colored (no, not Takato), I tried my hardest to ignore that little detail.

I turned my head away in rejection, lifting myself up off the floor on my own terms and doing, and going over to pick up my sketchbook that managed again to get away from me and skid across the floor. That didn't matter to me, it was on my way out anyway. I decided to say something, at least to cover up a little bit of what I had done, "I appreciate you coming over to return this to me, _Henry_, but I have to go." I didn't bother turning to look at my Digimon, just continued to walk towards the door. "Salamon?" I then halted right before heading out, Salamon jumping up to my shoulder. "Oh and by the way, the name is Rai. Just Rai."

As I walked out, I stopped momentarily out of their view in order to get a little bit of their conversation, and heard Henry say quietly, "I don't think she likes me very much. Is she always like that?"

I could have assumed Takato shrugged indifferently, since he answer made him seem rather unsure about that himself, which didn't really surprise me. "I think it'd be best to ignore her. She's weird like that sometimes. But I never really did understand girls all that well. I think they all have it out for me or something…" I could hear him shuffling his feet.

Smiling slightly, thinking about Takato's last statement, I headed out the door. '_I think they all have it out for me or something…_' I shrugged, thinking about how he got along with all of his girl friends (two words!) that I had met thus far. Jeri and Rika, two completely different, almost opposite, people. When around Rika, it seemed like he was always scared that he'd get his butt whooped. But he seemed more open around Jeri, more like an old childhood friend attitude than anything. _Man, _I thought_, that guy's got issues…_

Salamon grinned, happy to be out of that confined space called Takato's house, and then sighed. "So where we going, Rai? Going to go buy something for your new dirty little secret?" She giggled a little, showing off just how smug she really could get. And that's pretty darn haughty. "'Cause you could at least show a bit more gratitude towards him than you did. I don't think calling him 'my love' is quite enough."

"Why must you apply that song to everything?" I grumbled, keeping my eyes straight forward at the sidewalk in front of me, glaring down at it as if it had done something horribly wrong. I balled my fists and had my head hunched down slightly. "And to answer your second question, _no I am not_. I have currently chose this particular moment to wander around and get lost. Does that clarify everything?"

Salamon frowned. "Well, you don't have to get all defensive—"

"I'm not getting defensive!" I knew right after I had said that, I was quoting a 'If You Were Gay' parody, of which they subbed the audio with several characters from Digimon, but I couldn't have cared much less. Normally I would have kept going with the parody, but my mind was on other things, so the next words in it weren't coming to me anyway. I rubbed the back of my head. "Sorry, Sal. It's just…uh…well, I'm one of those people whose words don't come out the way they hear 'em in their head!" I laughed, annunciating every 'ha!'.

That was such a dull explanation, Salamon almost fell off my shoulder. "Why do I always get stuck with the douchébag humans?" She let out an annoyed groan, normally what I did in situations like these.

I grinned, beginning to poke her in the nose repeatedly, beginning to mess with her and get on what wasn't exactly her best and happiest of sides. And I had to admit, it was quite the enjoyable time that I had while proceeding to do so. "C'mon, Salamon, you and I both know that you love me."

She swatted my hand away from her face, namely her nose, with her paw and sent me an irritated stare that made me think that she would try to tear me apart with just one false move. "Stop sounding like me!"

I crossed my arms and gave a triumphant grin, as we stopped at an intersection and awaited the light to change to 'walk'. "Well now you know what it would be like if we switched places. Who would get the second laugh? Me." **[Does someone smell a sequel idea coming on? I sure do!]**

"I doubt it, Rai. You have too bad of luck to actually get one laugh in. Besides, your laugh scares me sometimes when you overdo it. When you start hyperventilating, that's a disturbing scene to witness. Make sure your dirty little secret doesn't hear that, it might scare him away." She laughed to herself.

I didn't say anything as my eyes scanned the area for oncoming traffic. The cars came to a standstill at the intersection as the signal light changed and signified my clearance to cross. I darted across in a sprint, my head moving in all directions and my heart beating like the distance across was a heck of a lot farther than it really was. That's just how I was when it all came down to avoiding any risk factors.

Once my foot had touched the curb, I gave a small huff to catch my breath and continued walking on to who knows where. "So what did you say, Salamon? I missed it." I shoved my hands in my pockets and looked around at where my absent-minded wandering was currently taking me. _Why do something productive when you can wander aimlessly?_

My Digimon shook her head, her floppy ears swaying back and forth like little pendulums, exhaling in an exasperated breath. "An insult just isn't good if you are forced to repeat it. So just never mind." Her expression dropped down to a scowl, a sure sign that I should pay attention more often. "Do I need to give you another speech about listening when I'm trying to insult you?" Note the word 'another'.

I shrugged indifferently, another speech from my own Digimon not really affecting my mood all too much, mainly for the reason I've gotten my fair share of them from her. "Sure, whatever. Wake me when your lecture's over." I pretended to nearly drop over asleep but caught myself quickly and then laughed to myself when Salamon thought I was actually going to let myself drop and therefore let out a small, terrified yell. "You scare easy, ya know that? That's your biggest weakness." I beamed in the learning of this, turning my head towards her to gloat with my expression.

She suddenly put a bit fat smile on her face, apparently something coming into her head that was probably going to cost me at one point or another. That's the main reason why she even bothered smiling. "Your biggest weakness is being distracted too easily." She gestured ahead with a simple bob of her head.

I turned back to the path ahead and—KONG!

Rubbing my face with my hand, I gave a loud groan. "Ugh, Salamon, why didn't you warn me there was a stop sign here _before_ I hit it!" I gritted my teeth and felt my face with my fingers, making sure my nose was where it was supposed to be and the size it was supposed to be. For a moment, I thought it was flattened.

"Think for a moment: If I warned you beforehand, how would that be funny?" Salamon jumped down from my shoulder, her voice seemingly like she thought she had a right to be innocent. I knew she was going to find a way to make this my own fault, of which response she probably already thought of at this point.

I curved the corners of my lips down to a frown. "I would have laughed at my narrow miss…" I grumbled, staring down at Salamon, who was currently examining the sign to make sure I didn't bend it over at all when I hit it. "C'mon, stop exaggerating, I didn't hit it that hard…" My already oncoming headache seemed to be attempting to prove me wrong. I rubbed my forehead again, trying to calculate and figure out just how many marbles fell out of my head with that blow.

"You really are related to Takato. I don't know any person more likely than him to hit a stop sign." I looked up and saw Rika standing a few yards from me; she seemingly had been standing there long enough to watch my little moment. There was a small smile plastered on her face, one that showed slight amusement.

I gave a cheesy grin, putting my hand back behind my head while doing so. "Yeah, that's true…" I then got over my little 'dur' moment, figuring that my humiliation could only give me so much satisfaction, and questioned, "Uh…Rika Nonaka, was it?"

She seemed to get slight pleasure on my remembering of her name. "You catch on quick," she noted. But then she instantly got to the point; she didn't seem like the type of person to avoid the topic of intention. "Anyway, the reason I decided to came by was I decided that since you were new to the area and you were a new Tamer as well, I'd show ya around, knowing that Takato wasn't going to do it, and maybe I could show you a thing or two about Taming."

As Salamon ran and jumped onto my shoulder, I answered with a look of gratitude, "Ya know, I'm beginning to like you. You definitely _are_ the level-headed one of the group." I then remembered why I was here in the first place: I answered the door. "Hey, by the way, I ordered pizza. Want some?"

She cocked her head to the side, grinning lightly at the offer. "If Takato doesn't eat it all first."

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**Please review! I want some good pointers as what I can improve upon. Thanks for bothering to read this! I've got chapter 5 all written out, but I wanna get most of the way through chapter 6 before posting 5.**


	6. Chapter 5: Like A Habit

**Man, this took forever to get out. It's a little longer than previous chapters and I had to do a ton of research on Google for all of this Japanese tourism stuff. Well, I finally got this out and that's all that matters. Sorry for the wait and I hope you enjoy it.**

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Chapter 5: Like a Habit

In a nutshell that I can't really put into complete words, my invite for the pizza was a mistake. I couldn't help but feel the strange tension that kinda circled in our group (the only one unaffected being Salamon, but really, that wasn't any surprise. She's as tough as nails). I watched—or at the least just kept my eyes on him so I didn't have to look at everyone else—Takato as he stared down at his plate, pretty much blushing his head off. I would normally say something to the effect of 'dude, it's just lunch', but quite frankly, even I felt it wasn't just lunch. There was so much strain that it seemed like we were in a courtroom and on trial. And Salamon being Salamon, I was sure she would find some weird method into worming her way to being the judge.

I lowered my eyes down to the piece of pizza I held in my hand and let out a sigh that sounded more depressed than it really was. Taking another bite, I scowled and chewed quickly, looking in every direction except into everyone else's eyes. Avoiding a situation never solved it, I knew that much, but then again, it did delay it, so as far as I was concerned, that was good enough. And coming to this very lazy conclusion of mine, I scarfed the rest of the piece down and jumped to my feet, talking surprisingly quickly. "Okay, Rika. I'm done, ready, and yeah, let's go." I grabbed her by the arm, causing her to drop her pizza on the floor with a splat, and dragged her out of the room. Salamon trailed after, dragging along with her "her share" of the pizza. When I say this, I mean about three slices, one two thirds gone, the others untouched, aside for one of them that had the cheese previously eaten off.

When we had gotten a fair distance down the street and towards the Shinjuku station, I thought Rika had given me a suspicious glance. The moment I noticed, it seemed that her eyes had never been on me in the first place. With Salamon distracted with her pizza momentarily, it had an eerie silence, aside from the background sounds of traffic, birds, etc. And by the way that Rika kept her eyes off into the distance, thinking about something intense, it made me think that I should have been thinking hard too. Since after all, hanging with intelligent people such as Rika, it just made me feel like a moron, just out of place, like I had been at Takato's school. It made me believe that there was some big secret that I should've known about, but no one felt like filling me in. Like charades in a way, I just had to figure it out on my own through given hints.

I crossed my arms, trying to look in deep thought. Maybe Rika didn't like me all that much, that's why she wasn't talking and making it seem like she was preoccupied with a mental issue, that all of this was just a way to be nice, just something for a fellow Tamer. I didn't want to tell her this to her face, though, really any of my thoughts anyway. I never really had asserted myself all that much to my opinions, my thoughts were always directed inward at myself. Sometimes I would assert myself, but I figured I'd learned the hard way too often as to do such. I always expected the worst, like I'd completely lose it in front of them, they'd get angry at me, or I'd just end up hurting them.

Because when it comes down to it, I didn't know how to handle emotions. I tried to hold back any of my negativity or sadness, that's why I was always trying to smile. I never spoke of what was going on with me. Personal problems were meant to be personal, I'd always think. And other's emotions were things I wasn't used to handling, either. When I found someone down, I just didn't know how to respond, what I could possibly say that would even make a bit of a difference. Maybe that's partially because I always thought somehow, under everything, it was my fault.

"Hey, Rai." Rika's voice coming out unexpectedly almost startled me. But she didn't seem to notice my surprise, continuing on like there was no interruption to begin with. "When did Salamon find you?" Her question took me aback. I hadn't really anticipated that kind of inquiry coming from her. It made me assume that there was something that was deeper than just a wondering.

I put a hand up to my chin and tried to look deep in thought. "I can't be sure. I think almost right after D-Reaper. Uh…Salamon?" I looked down at my Digimon who had just finished her pizza at that moment and was looking up at me expectantly, as if I had more that I was just waiting to give her that she couldn't get to on her own. "When did you meet me?"

Salamon gave me a look like I just asked the stupidest question ever. "Pfft, I don't know. All I know is that you're almost too hard to find for your own good. Same with a portal to the real world. I don't know which one was harder to find. You or the thing that _leads_ to you."

I narrowed my eyes. "That solves…nothing."

Rika then seemed to ponder the little information that we had to offer and then again grew silent. I didn't know whether or not to ask, thinking that it must likely have been for just her own curiosity and then decided to just dismiss it. It wasn't really right for me to prod into someone else's thoughts anyway. Sure, I didn't always respect personal space, but nonetheless, if I didn't, Rika seemed like the type to want to kill me. So I'd be better off to keep on her better of sides. But I wondered how long that was gonna last; Salamon always found some way to pin everything on me. And it was only a matter of time.

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Using the Rinkai Line, we had taken a train to Odaiba, since it was the most beautiful district in Tokyo. But it was also a big tourist trap. There were so many options of what to do and see, I just stood there looking at everything and taking in everything that I could see. Rika had indeed picked the right place to take me. I could've ran around in circles screaming 'I'm here! I'm here! I can't believe I'm here!' and I wouldn't have cared if anyone stared, because I was just that energized with excitement.

Our first stop was Shiokaze Park, where I was taken off-guard when seeing the giant Gundam standing there. Salamon felt the need to near give me a heart attack, so tried to climb it, saying the best view would be up there. I didn't doubt those specific words, but the whole idea in itself of climbing up there just to get a look around scared the crap out of me. Why she got these ideas, I had no clue. But nonetheless, I had to take a stand as the one between the two of us to have at least a little common sense and pretty much drag her away from the statue.

Our next destination was the Museum of Maritime Science, or Fune-no-Kagakukan. The museum itself was designed like a large six-story ocean liner. For seven hundred yen each, we got in, along with a Salamon shoved in my sweatshirt. It was a fairly large museum, having about five main areas, including a ship-steering simulation of which guided a radio-controlled ship, a library, and an observation room that provided a panoramic view of the Tokyo Bay.

Salmon grinned, staring up at me from the opening of my sweatshirt I had unzipped to make so she could see just what was here. "So, does all this stuff about ships and water make you have to go?" she questioned, a glint in her eye shining in such a way that I should have been very, very afraid of what she had in mind. But sometimes my own foolishness surprises me.

I gave a baffled look down at the puppy-like face peering at me from inside my sweatshirt. "What do you mean by that?" I retaliated quickly, sending a don't-you-do-whatever-you're-gonna-do kind of expression that she ignored as she always did. If she wasn't going to listen to anyone of higher authority than me, why would she give a crap in even bothering to know what I even said to begin with?

She got a pleased but not quite devious smile on her face, one that concealed any idea of my demise completely. Her voice came out sweet, as if there was nothing to be worried about. I could name one thing: Her. "Oh, you know. The _waves_, the deep blue sea and all the _flowing tides_. The sound the water makes when _running_ of the sails of ships. All of this reminds me of the sweet waterfalls in the wilderness, _streaming_ down the rocks, _rushing_ down the river banks and—"

By this time, I had my sweatshirt pulled off of me, Salamon still inside, bundled up, thrown at Rika, and running off to find the nearest restroom. "You really suck, Sal!" I yelled, darting out of their sight like I was running the hundred meter dash in track.

Our final stop of the day was a restaurant to get a bite to eat for an early dinner before our train ride back, which was about twenty-five minutes long. I had chosen some char sui ramen, which was pork and ramen noodles in a spicy sauce, while Rika ordered bomburi oyakodon, which, simply put, was rice with eggs and chicken. Salamon just mooched off anyone who was foolish enough to think she was a little puppy, and thus, got her share of quite the large variety.

In the middle of our meal, Rika's cell phone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket and answered, "Yes?" A long pause. "No, I'm in Odaiba with one of my friends…Takato's cousin…Shirai…" I knew this must have been the introduction phase mixed in with the where-the-heck-are-you phase. "We're eating right now, and then we're coming back… Tonight? Sure whatever. Bye." Hanging up, she returned her phone back into her pocket and looked at me. "That was my grandma. She would like you to come over to get introduced and have dessert. She said she made ichigo daifuku."

I grinned, knowing that I struck it big with food today and had the most awesome timing. "Cool. I'd be glad to meet your family." I turned my head and looked around for Salamon so I could ask of her opinion of the idea. Then I realized what she was doing. "Sal! Get off there and stop eating the people's sushi while they're distracted!"

She looked at me and then at the current plate of food she was dining from. Then, noticing that the owner of that food saw her, she gave the puppy eyes for an act of forgiveness and ran over to me. "C'mon, Rai! How often do you take me to a buffet?" she whined, trying to make the puppy eyes on me, which used to work only back when I first met her. Since then, I had deeply learned my lesson under that particular circumstance.

I stayed firm under the influence of her pitiful expression. "Never, but that's beside the point," I answered quickly. "The point is—" I was abruptly cut off by someone that wasn't, last time I checked, part of my current group.

"Hello, ladies!" The so-called Tamer known as Kazu popped out of nowhere into the place next to me in such a way that I would have thought that he had teleported. "Fancy seeing you here! I would have had _no_ idea that you guys would have come here the same time I had! This is one of my favorite restaurants!" He put his arm around me and I instantly tensed frozen. "How'djya know, Cupcake? Didjya—" He put on what he'd probably call 'his sexy voice'. "—ask around about me?" He did his little double eyebrow wiggle thing which had managed to be creepy enough to make me shudder.

"What are you doing here, Kazu?" Rika questioned, most likely making sure to insert an extra amount of annoyance in her voice for this very occasion. "And more importantly, how did you know where we were?" It was evident by her stare that she specifically saved this kind of emotion strictly for him and him alone.

I tried to make my voice as steady and firm as Rika's, but I instantly knew that she had much more experience in that area than I did. "Yes, and where's your gay BFF?" I continued, making sure to include Kazu's partner in crime/gay, pink-loving best friend that is never seen without him, Kenta, into the conversation.

Kazu apparently ignored all of Rika's demands and apparently cared more about mine, shown by him answering it. And apparently he knew I was talking about Kenta. "Outside, making sure no guys more attractive than me come in." He seemed proud of this little plan that he with no doubt was the one to come up with.

Rika made no effort to move her eyes in attempt to enhance the effectiveness of her sarcasm. "Then why isn't this restaurant empty?" she questioned rhetorically, a perfect burn on her part. I was sure that she could score one no matter what someone said pretty much. You could just see that by looking at her.

I glanced out the window of the restaurant as Kazu gave Rika a dumb response and saw Kenta standing out there by the door, trying to keep this fairly ugly guy from getting in. He had a neon green Mohawk with a heck of a lot of body piercings and tattoos, and was no less than five hundred pounds. I almost cringed just looking at the guy and Kenta attempting to keep him out with a broken off tree branch of which he got from who knows where. _Probably from one of the bushes him and Kazu were hiding in…_ I assumed.

Turning back to the conversation presented, Kazu was answering Rika's how-did-you-know-our-location question with, "It's like a sixth sense. I _always_ know where my Cupcake is." He crossed his hands and smirked smugly. That sounded as dumb as anything else I've ever heard.

"Stalker," I grumbled quietly, picking at my meal with my chopsticks absentmindedly, losing all mood to eat. "Is your sixth sense your ability to keep up with us the entire day? I mean, what the heck? You follow us all the way to Odaiba?" I gave him the what-kind-of-moron-are-you? look, of which was probably lost in translation. "What the heck are you trying to prove?"

"What do you _think_ I'm trying to prove?" Another flirtatious smirk and double eyebrow wiggle, with a small you-know-what-I'm-talking-about-hon chuckle. The creeper.

I leaned in and returned the gesture, making him think I was getting the message in a way that would make him lucky and he was getting just what he wanted. But then I suddenly stood up and walked away, saying, "Perv."

We paid and took the train back to Shinjuku. There, Rika led me to her house. It was a traditional Japanese style home, a wooden door and stone wall around the property. And by the size, I could tell her family was well-off. Leading me in, I was greeted by beautiful landscaping of Japanese gardens all around her home. The house itself was of Shinden-zukuri, being built around and in the gardens in a U-shape. The structure of the house was roofed passageways that connected all of the individual rooms together, rooms divided with sliding screens.

I took in the smell of all of the trees and plant life as all the scents came to me. And with my eyes, I admired the ponds and bridges, statues and just all of the landscaping in itself. "Wow, Rika, your house is amazing," I gasped, letting Salamon roam where she pleased, even though she probably would have gone on her own anyway, I wanted to feel as if I had at least a minimal amount of control over her. I didn't care if I had to fool myself.

"Thanks," she answered, watching as Salamon fell off one of the railings of a bridge and into the stream below with a splash. "C'mon, I'll show you inside." She paid no mind to when Salamon shook the water off her coat and sprayed me with the cold water.

She led me into the house and saw a conventional Japanese interior. We took off our shoes and Rika led me to the kitchen, where I saw an older woman baking. She had a soft face and looked younger than she probably was. She had dark brown hair and a few gray strands mixed in. I assumed that she was Rika's grandmother.

She noticed me and smiled sweetly, her violet eyes lighting up with life. "Hello, you must be Shirai, I'm Seiko Hata, Rika's grandmother. It's really nice to meet you. You're Takato's cousin, right? He's such a nice boy, Rika talks about him all the ti—" She was cut off.

"Grandma!" Rika whined, trying to get her to stop talking. Her grandmother apparently hit a topic that she didn't want to speak about. _And so the plot thickens…Hehe…_ After her comment, I looked at Salamon, who had also caught the remark, and her ears twitched in sudden catching of interest in the conversation.

Seiko laughed to herself as Rika turned slightly pink in the cheeks and looked away. "I'm sorry, dear, I'm only kidding." She then turned her attention to Salamon, noticing the Digimon on my shoulder for the first time. "Oh, and who might you be? Are you one of those Digimon they had on TV those weeks ago?"

Salamon raised a paw in greeting. "Hi there, lady! My name's Salamon, but you can just call me Salamon—"_ Someone watched Digimon 02 episode one too many times…_ "—Rai tells me you have food!" she exclaimed, sniffing around for the ichigo daifuku that was promised over the phone call at dinner.

I bowed slightly, apologizing for Salamon's misbehavior. "Sorry, she's like that sometimes. No manners at all whatsoever." I returned the smile, though holding the slight embarrassment that my Digimon provided back from sight.

"Oh, that's quite all right. I can see she means well." She turned and grabbed a plate of these cookie-cupcake-looking things. "I believe these are what your friend is looking for." I liked what I saw, too. They looked fresh and newly-made and just ready to be eaten. And if I got the chance of Salamon accidentally missing a couple, they would be mine. I would make certain of it.

"Oh, sweet mama…" I didn't want to look at Salamon as she said this, because otherwise I'd probably see her drooling on my shoulder. "Have I died and gone to heaven? Someone pinch— OW! Rai, it's a figure of speech!"

"Sorry, my mistake." As Seiko put the plate of ichigo daifuku on the table, I walked over and sat down across from Rika, who took the chair on the other side of the table. "These look awesome, Mrs. Hata!" I grinned at the soon-to-be-mine dessert like it was the greatest thing in the world. "Thanks so much!" I grabbed one and shoved it in my mouth, tasting the strawberry in the very center. "This is the best food I've had since I've got here!"

Seiko laughed lightly, seeming pleased that someone loved her home cooking. "I'm glad you like it. Now if you excuse me, my friends on Granny Chat await." She walked out of the room, heading for the nearest computer to go to the chat room created for the common female senior citizen. Who knows who came up with it, but it's been all the rage with grandmothers lately.

I threw an ichigo daifuku up in the air and caught it in my mouth. "Rika! These are amazing, you gotta have some before Salamon eats them all!" I exclaimed through a full mouth, all my manners escaping me at that exact moment. "It's like I haven't even lived until now! I could eat a million of these things in one sitting! Sure, I may barf, but it'd all be worth it!"

"Spare me the mental image," Rika retorted, just gazing down at the plate of Japanese desserts with a look that said she was tempted to eat some, but wasn't really sure if she should or not. If she knew better and just how much me and Salamon could take down in just one meal, she'd probably have to make the decision as to get as much as she could. Even then, we were busy trying to get more in our mouths than the other.

I decided to change the subject. Normally I couldn't get very far when talking about just food (unless it was to myself, that is, then it could go on for a good long while), although that maybe be an enjoyable topic of conversation. "So where're your parents? Or do you just live with your—" I could've been cut off by irony itself this was so spot-on.

"Rika, baby! You should have been there! For my photo shoot, I went to the most marvelous garden!" A woman who I couldn't have guessed the age of came into the room. She had glimmering eyes, shiny blond hair, and faultless skin tone. I could see a resemblance to her and Rika, so assumed that it was her mother. "Oh, Rika, I didn't know you had company!" She waltzed her way over and sat down in a chair. "I'm Rumiko Nonaka, Rika's mom."

"Hi," I said sheepishly, slightly taken aback by her quick introduction and how much she was bursting with enthusiasm. "I'm Shirai Matsuki, Takato's cousin." I glanced over at Salamon, who was missing her mouth more than actually, physically eating. "And this is my partner, Salamon. Oh and I don't mean to prod, but you said photo shoot. Are you a model or something?"

She seemed surprised that I didn't have any idea what she was talking about when she was speaking to Rika as she entered. "Yes, I'm a fashion model. My modeling name is Makino." She looked as though she was expecting me to answer to something.

"I'm sorry, I've never heard of you. I don't keep up with fashion or anything. I just put on whatever I happen to pull out of my drawers." I shrugged indifferently, wondering how she was going to react to that. Famous people were always overly eccentric and I wondered if Rumiko was the same way as all the others.

She looked over at her daughter with a hidden, mental roll of the eyes. "Rika's the same way. I always told her that she had potential as a model, but she'd rather stick to her own trends. That's why you two get along so well, isn't it?" She seemed exasperated that there was yet another person that refused to go with the flow of the judgment of society.

"No, I'm the glue that keeps everything together! That's why I'm so dang adorable!" Salamon interjected, not looking so adorable with strawberry juice covering her completely, head to paw. She looked almost bloodstained, except with a fruity scent. "I ooze cuteness, that's why people hang with Rai! It's 'cause they just can't get enough of mua!"

"Geez, take a bow, why don'tchya?" I questioned rhetorically with a small smirk. "She's always cocky like that. I don't know where she gets it from." I gave another unsure shrug, dismissing Salamon's behavior as normal.

"Well, I going to get a nice long bubble bath in before getting my beauty sleep. It was nice meeting you, Shirai." With that, Rumiko dismissed herself out of the room. "Don't stay up too late, Rika, all right? You don't want those ugly bags under your eyes, it'll ruin your complexion."

Rika sighed in annoyance, not bothering to waste the energy of rolling her eyes, since it seemed to be a normal thing for her mother to be focused on appearance. "Yes, mother," she replied with a substantial amount of irritation evident in her voice. It seemed to be more than just a daily ritual for her, almost like a chore in voice.

When Rumiko had exited, I had decided to continue the conversation I was about to start when she had first come in the room. "So, I take it you're not too close to your mom by the looks. Sorry if it sounds like I'm taking her side, which I'm not, but you do have the looks for a model." I gave her an I'm-totally-serious look.

Rika was the one to shrug this time. "Eh, not really my thing. It's never interested me. But my mom always tried to get me to attend shoots. Some of the days I wished I could just shoot myself." She gave me a small, knowing smile. "I found Taming to be my forte."

I grinned back. "Yeah, you won that card tournament last year, right? I remember reading your name somewhere, you were amazing." I saw the thanks in her eyes and continued. "I have yet to find my thing. I gotta keep searching, I guess."

"I heard from Takato you're a good artist. With the added comment of 'but not as good as I am, though, that's impossible'." She laughed slightly, recalling what my cousin had told her whenever that was. In response, I gave an I-don't-know kind of look, and in reaction, she got up and retrieved a pencil and paper. "And now let's see if he lives up to his words."

I picked up the pencil and fingered it in between my thumb and index finger. "All right…" I began to bring the pencil around the paper, making rapid marks and swipes upon it. Shading came automatically with the movements in my wrist and arm, so fast I almost didn't realize what I was doing until the drawing was already on the paper. After I was finished, I rotated it around on the table so Rika could see the sketch right side up. "Here. Finished."

She pulled it closer to her to get a better look and then revealed a smirk. "Takato's a big, fat liar with a big, fat head." She slid it back over to me. "Make sure he gets this. I want him to have it." I then returned her facial expression, getting what she was saying.

I pulled it closer to myself and nodded. "Hey, I don't mean to prod or anything, but speaking of life dreams and stuff, what does your dad want you to be?" Instantly, I knew that I had made the wrong choice in questions.

Rika's face suddenly grew glum and she dropped her head down to avoid my gaze. I had hit the wrong topic at the wrong time, I knew. I wished I could've just gone back and prevented myself from asking. Rika was seemingly always headstrong and firm, but this was something that seemed to naturally waver her. Me and my big mouth.

"Look at what you did! Now she wants to commit suicide!" Salamon scolded, overacting, but nonetheless, noting my wrongdoing. I had no idea that she was even listening until that moment, since she was, as I assumed, too busy chowing down on the ichigo daifuku to even notice that we were even discussing anything.

Ignoring how irrational my Digimon's comment was, I knew she was right I saying that it was my fault. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit a touchy subject. I prod too much sometimes, you don't have answer me if you don't want to." I didn't really know what else to say to make amends for everything that just blurted out of my mouth.

"Don't worry about it." She didn't look at me, but instead, got to her feet. "Well, it's getting late. I can walk with you back if you want."

I did the same, slid my chair in, and began to pry Salamon away from the near-empty plate of desserts. "I would say you didn't have to, but I don't know my way back, so it might be important that I don't get lost and be wandering around like a homeless person trying to find a vacant cardboard box to take a nap in."

* * *

The walk back to the Matsuki Bakery was quiet, the sound of our footsteps and the passing car every so often being the only sounds besides the calm wind whistling in my ears. I had the sketch grasped in my fingers as the building came into sight and we made our way to the resident entrance on the side. I looked down at it, almost tempted to smile, but hiding it. When we stopped at the door, I put my hand on the doorknob and looked at her. "Well, thanks for today. I had a really good time. I thought it would be kinda weird, because…well, you're a lot cooler than I am, but I must say that I'd love to do it again sometime. If you wanna come in, you're welcome to."

Rika shook her head. "No thanks. I should be getting back home. If I'm out too long, my mom would freak." I gave her an understanding look to match hers. "Tell Takato I said hello." She turned, gave me a half of a wave and walked off before I could say anything more on the spot.

"You smell something here, Rai? I smell something that's in the shape of a triangle," Salamon stated slyly. I knew she was going to go into Sherlock Holmes mode and try to snoop into other people's business, putting her nose where it just didn't belong.

"Ugh, lay off, Sal. It's not your problem," I stated, sighing and letting myself in like I lived there (though I technically did. Temporarily.). Instantly, I saw Takato sitting on the couch, watching TV. I suddenly grinned, knowing just what to say at this moment. "Hey, Tomato, your girlfriend said to tell you that she says hello."

"And that she loves you," Salamon added with a matching smirk to mine.

Takato's face grew bright red, brighter than a tomato could only dream of becoming, and his jaw dropped, his eyes becoming that like softballs. That only made it all the more amusing for me and my Digimon friend here. I laughed at him and said, "Okay, not the second part, but you should've seen your face!" I walked over and handed him the sketch I did. "Oh, and I'm supposed to give you this." I handed the drawing to him and his face turned somehow even redder. Apparently he was a little more than impressed with that sketch of Rika I had drawn.

I headed out back to get ready for bed as Salamon called back, "Nightie night, lover boy!"


	7. Chapter 6: Candy With A Surprise Center

**I've been so busy lately and writer's block has been coming at me full force, so I haven't been able to get much time to write in any of my fanfictions. The main thing is cross country but the season is over half over, so when winter hits, I'll probably be back on track and hopefully the updates will be faster. **

**Anyway, this chapter shows a little bit of what is going to develop into the plot, although it's rather uneventful, so I apologize. I'm not exactly sure when the plot will fully come into action, since I came up with all this stuff I want to write that is pretty much all irrelevent to the storyline.**

**Despite the lack of event importance, I hope you enjoy this chapter! **

* * *

Chapter 6: Candy With a Surprise Center

—Third person narration—

He pushed a strand of stray hair that had made its way onto his pale white, expressionless face back to the side, in front of his ear to dangle there as it once had. His piercing sapphire blue eyes gazed down upon a sphere that floated before him. It was clouded with a dark, hazy mist, and if one were to look past the fogginess, through the little spaces between all of the little individual clouds, they would see pictures in motion, panels such as a sort of television.

A small, pale finger reached over towards it and touched a single place upon the orb and it lit up into life. The mist swirled and in the eye of the minute circular opening created, one of the countless panels was projected in the air. There were a few figures going about their business, three to be completely exact, walking down a street, as if all in their insolent lives were perfect. _Oh how they're mistaken_, he thought to himself, continuing to watch with a growing curiosity of the figures, one beginning to stick out among the others, proving to him of being of more importance than the rest. _I could make special arrangements for that one; the additional assistance may be needed…_

His hand moved in a steady, almost slow motion kind of movement as the tip of his index finger pressed lightly upon the orb a second time, a different place than the first touch, another screen appearing beside the original. Here, it focused upon a single figure, a human that he recognized from a rather recent time. At one end, it angered him to see the human, going about without a single care or even a slight gesture to even holding the remembrance of him or what had happened. At the other end, he felt a bit of gratitude. Despite the agonizing pain he had to go through, it was worth it all in the very end of it. It made him stronger, gave him the upper hand to all that opposed him.

He had never held such power before. It gave him a good amount of confidence that things would eventually turn out in such a way that would please him, given the proper effort, that is. In a way, it was like gardening. Plant the seed, care for it daily, and all the while, watch it grow. So, in comparison to that, given persistence and proper strategy, everything with develop and fall into place just how he wanted. And he had a certain assurance that things were going to follow through exactly has he had hoped.

He smiled lightly to himself, crossing his arms and continuing to watch both of the screens that were displayed before him, an interest beginning to take over in his mind. Things could get quite entertaining if all went along with it. It was nothing but a game, and it could become substantially enjoyable if all of the characters played along and did their part. An RPG game, all of it unraveling by just a bit of effort put forth by all of the players. "It's all a game. You like games, don't you my old friend? Let's just hope you're not a sore loser…"

* * *

—Shirai's POV—

I wiped my arm over my forehead as I walked through the door to the bakery, sweat already soaking my arm so not exactly helping the process of removing it from my head. Instead, I bent over and used the hem of my t-shirt. Afterwards I looked up and saw a couple customers staring at me for pulling my shirt up just above my gut to wipe my face, my own forgetfulness being that this part of Takato's house was completely public this hour of the morning.

I grinned cheesily, letting out a little 'hehe…' kind of embarrassed noise and said, "Uh, sorry." And then I was out of the room in a flash, a little off-set this morning having just nearly exposed myself to a store full of shoppers just looking for bread. Not exactly something I had on my agenda for the day. Or any other day for that matter. I'll leave that to those people that actually _want _to be on those pornography posters.

I walked up the steps to Takato's bedroom, beginning to speak as I entered, "Tomato, be glad you're a guy. You get away with—" I stopped, seeing Takato still zonked out in bed, despite the fact it was past nine o'clock and he was actually up at the time that I told him I was going for a run. "Wow, he looks weird when he's sleeping." I eyed him with slight amusement while walking over to my suitcase for a set of fresh clothing and pulling my hair out of a ponytail.

I grabbed my clean clothes and walked to the bathroom, stripping out of my running clothes, taking a quick shower, and then changing into khaki shorts and a white t-shirt with a navy blue collar. I blinked at my reflection in the mirror for a few seconds, seeing nothing special, nor anything to be worked on (not that I would've done anything anyway) and walked out in about ten minutes flat, looking for some breakfast that already didn't have a Salamon-bite mark on it.

I walked into the living room and instantly I saw Salamon sitting on the couch, her face stuck in a book and looking concentrated on the literature sitting before her. "Uh, Salamon, since when do you read? I thought you took after me and never read any books, aside from those that are mandatory?" I questioned, shrugging, "Although, for you, no book is mandatory. I wouldn't torture you as to force you to read—Eh, is that the book I think it is?"

She looked up at me with her bright blue eyes shining with a newly sparked wonder. She sighed dreamily, looking like a love struck teenage girl who just saw her so-called 'dream guy' for the very first time. "The best book in the world? Yes, yes, yes…" she answered with a whispy voice, gazing up at the ceiling with a little smile on her face.

I raised up an eyebrow at her sudden mood that I had never heard her display before. "Um…what? How is _Twilight_ the best book in the world? It's about a girl who's stalked by a guy who looks like he has glitter stuck to his face that breaks the heart of a teenage werewolf." Continuing to stare, I watched as she flipped the page with her paw. No matter how much I thought I knew her, she never ceased to surprise me. "Where did that come from anyway?" I gestured to the book with the pointing of my index finger.

"Found it," she replied with a snide grin that made all of her schemes seem completely innocent. Giving another little exhale, she stated, her voice as light as a feather could be, "I wish there was an EdwardCullenmon…"

"Oh God, you're a Team Edward…" I mumbled, walking out of the room, shaking my head in emotions that seemed to primarily be embarrassment. "When she gets to _Eclipse_, I'll bet she'll be all over Jacob."

I made my way over into the kitchen, opening up the refrigerator, looking at all it had to offer that I could possibly make. Despite my stay at a bakery, I didn't feel like having bread every single meal of my day. The first couple of days, I knew, I'd probably be pretty okay with it, but after a while, it would've become another thing that wanted to make me suffer. So, coming to this quick conclusion, I grabbed the carton of milk and a little cup of raspberry yogurt.

I sat both things on the table and then went for a spoon out of the drawer. But making a mistake I had multiple times in the past, I was careless and so accidentally pulled out the entire drawer, causing all the silverware to crash to the floor with an ear-piercing impact. I stood there looking down at the mess with a blank, 'dur' look on my face. "Oops…"

"What happened? Who's there, show yourself!" I turned at the sound of a voice and noticed Takato running in the room still in his pajamas, but with the addition of a toy lightsaber in his hand and a bicycle helmet placed on his head. That must have been his definition of armed and ready. Well, it wasn't exactly mine.

My stare had now taken its place on him, taking in his current state of dress, realizing that the bang must have woke him up. "What did you honestly think happened?" _A burglar going for the grub and needs silverware to eat it on the go_, I answered myself. "No, better yet, what did you think _that_—" I gestured to his lightsaber and helmet. "—would possibly protect you from? You keel over if someone pokes you in the stomach."

He gave me a cheesy, yeah-that's-my-bad kind of grin. "Well, uh, you know… If there was a, uh… okay, you win…" Even though his voice had dropped the farther he got in his response—if one were to actually call that a response, that is—his smile remained on his face. And to top it off, he followed up with a little chuckle.

I smirked as I bent down to pick up all of the eating utensils and questioned, "So what's on the agenda today besides trying to use the Force to prevent gravity?" I shoved the drawer back into its place and straightened my posture up to a standing position, momentarily forgetting about the yogurt, the main reason this whole event had taken place.

"Today we're going to Shinjuku Park," he replied in a rather as-matter-of-factly tone, removing the bike helmet off his head and setting the lightsaber down on the table, finding no more reason to have them. "Every weekend I go there to see if Guilmon came back to where he used to live. I know it's unlikely, but it just feels like something I have to do."

"Okay, then, that's what we're going." I looked back through the doorway to the living room. "Salamon, put the book down, we're going!"

I heard her sigh from about ten feet away a loud, exasperated exhale. "But it's just getting good!" I let her linger in the silence to show I just didn't care. Another sigh. "Ugh, _fiiine_!" She sounded nothing less than a stubborn teenager that was forced to go to a family reunion or something. And now I knew why they all sounded the same: They all must have read _Twilight_.

She ran over and hopped on the table to get closer to my face, a glare on her face and the tone revealing she was rather annoyed with me for tearing her away from her newest love. "I really—Ooh, yogurt!" Her attention was immediately drawn away from me and onto the cup of yogurt I had left only a few inches from her current location. She bit a hole into the tinfoil top that was supposed to be peeled off and attempted to get her tongue down in there to get the raspberry yogurt out. When she succeeded in that task, she smiled and stated, "You're forgiven!"

I crossed my arms and frowned, mumbling to myself, noting that she was now eating what had been the last thing of yogurt right in front of me, "Well, there goes breakfast…" Shaking my head, I reasoned with myself, _She was better off reading vampire love stories, at least then I had the chance to eat in peace without it being taken away from me…_ "Okay, let's go, Tomato." I pried my Digimon off the now-empty cup of yogurt and followed my cousin out the door.

* * *

"Okay, so tell me exactly why did Guilmon live in Shinjuku Park? Your parents seemed okay when they saw Sal," I remarked as we made our way up the steps that was surrounded by trees at every side that led up farther into the park. I remembered my first introduction of Salamon to my aunt and uncle, Mei and Takehiro. Mei had her early worries about my Digimon, but then again, she worried about just nearly everything. On the other hand, Takehiro was totally cool with it, as he was with just about everything.

"Well, it wasn't until we went to the Digital World that I actually told them about him. So—" I cut Takato off, the new questions coming into my head with his newest words, things that were far superior than what we were currently discussing.

"Wait, wait, wait. Back up a minute." He stopped and looking at me, I continued, "You were in the Digital World? But how?" I gave my what-the-heck-why-didn't-you-tell-me-this-before stare that got its point across. "How did you get there?"

He cracked a small smile at my sudden burst of interest in what he was saying. "It's a long story." I gave him a long, cold stare and he took a long breath, beginning to spit out words a mile a minute. "Well, the gist is Calumon was kidnapped by the Devas and brought to the Digital World. So we looked around and found a portal, which was rather dumb because it was in Guilmon's house all along and we never thought to look there. So we told our parents and then we left, saved Calumon, got back by an Ark that Henry's dad developed, aaaand…yeah." His smile grew wider into a big fat, there-you-have-it grin.

I blinked in my slight astonishment. "…Oh…Okay, then. If that's not a recap, I don't know what really is." I averted my gaze over to the path lying before us and saw a little building made completely of stone with a metal gate at the entrance, almost completely concealed by trees and bushes. "Hey, that's pretty cool; is that Guilmon's house-thing?"

"Yep. This was the only place that could really contain him. He'd either catch whiff of food or get harassed by Impmon, who always conveniently decides he's bored and looking for something to charbroil." He led me up to the top of the steps, not allowing me to even ask who Impmon was, which wasn't completely necessary on my part because I recalled seeing a trading card with him on it, so if my memory failed me, it probably didn't matter all that much. "Except the problem was, he could get out of here, too."

"Oh, well, isn't that peachy?" I gave myself a shrug, since it seemed like he was ignoring me overall now, his attention turned to the path ahead. "Hey, is the reason Guilmon could always get out because you leave the front door open?" But then, I deducted the very reason his attention was averted from me was because of the same thing I pointed out, which made me feel rather dumb at that particular moment.

We picked up the pace to the little stone building, and entered inside. There was a single strap pack leaning up against the wall and in the middle of the floor was a big hole. I didn't get to ask what the heck managed to make a hole of that size, as Takato was already climbing down inside it. Salamon leapt off my shoulder and onto Takato's head, causing him to let go and fall the rest of the way down, Salamon yelling out the whole time, "Wee!"

I laughed slightly when I heard Takato hit the bottom and just moan, walking over to the pit that was about eight feet deep and continued to a tunnel and beginning my descent. The tunnel wasn't all that large, making me have to get on hands and knees and crawl in pursuit of Takato. It wasn't exactly something I felt like doing at that particular moment in time, but seeing no other real option.

Suddenly, I heard Salamon's voice blurt out and echo throughout the whole tunnel, "Hi there, Sexyboy! I didn't know you lived in a hole!"

I facepalmed and shook my head. "Things that Digimon comes up with and has no shame with spitting out…" I mumbled, turning onto my side and leaning my back up against the wall, seeing Takato just a few feet away and not bothering to get any closer, looking directly past the gogglehead and seeing Henry checking out the dead end of the tunnel, as if there was actually something there of more or less significance. I felt my face heat up as I realized I was rather in awe of how dedicated and focused he looked at something that would seem so boring to the normal person.

"Henry, what are you doing here?" Takato questioned, probably speaking everyone's minds at that moment as to why he was examining a wall of dirt. But when I phrased it as such, it made him seem like such a moron. But sitting down in a pit thinking about why someone was looking at dirt made the person thinking about it, aka me, sound even dumber.

Salamon interrupted the response Henry was about to give by saying, "Hey, I fell a sneezing coming—ACHOO!" She laughed hysterically. "Dude, that was loud!"

Takato made a sound of deep disgust. "Eww…Loud… but sick." At the sound of Salamon almost sneezing again, the 'Ah! Ah! Ah! Aaaaah…' sound that showed she couldn't quite get it out, he scrambled past me (seemingly making sure that he was kicking me in the face in the process. Yeah, thanks.) and out of the tunnel at a speed I could probably never reach on all fours. But I couldn't really be sure because I didn't spend my time testing that.

"…ahh…Eh, I can't get it out," Salamon stated, stopping with the method of cleaning the sinuses and the removing of a certain gogglehead. "Oh well, at least I have more room now that Tomato is gone. I think I was suffering from claustrophobia." She gave a small chuckle. "I'm gonna go see just how much snot I got on the Tomato!" She darted right past me and I watched her glomp Takato, who at that time was climbing up the hole and now complaining he couldn't see because she was standing on his face and examining it for signs of snot.

I laughed to myself at the scene and turned my head to the other side to only come face to face with Henry, who at this particular time was obviously beginning to make his way back out, seeing that apparently everyone else was leaving, and now was only inches from me. I felt my face grow lava hot at how dangerously close to me he was; if I would've focused on his breathing, I bet I would have felt it hitting my face. "Oh, sorry, I'm in your way, aren't I?" I could only listen as my voice cracked as words just spilled out of my mouth. "I do that a lot, don't mind me. He he, one moment!"

I digress. I could go out of that tunnel as fast as Takato could, maybe faster. I don't think I ever moved that fast before, I might as well have teleported. Actually I bet I would've gotten out slower if I had teleported. Once out the mouth of the cave, I rose to my feet, swaying because of a head rush and proceeded to climb up the side. Though trying to get up there quickly was easier said than done. Especially when Salamon realizes just what you're up to. That makes pretty much everything else nothing less than torture.

"Hey! This rock is shaped like a soccer ball! I love soccer!"

Next thing I knew, I had a rock the size of a golf ball hit me in the eye. "Ow, God, my eye!" Before I knew what I was doing and just how stupid it really was, I let go of the ledge I was currently holding onto to cover my damaged eye. My feet slipped from the little holds there were on, and I then found myself on my head at the bottom of the hole.

The worst part of this whole thing was probably that Salamon most likely did all of this on purpose. That made it all the worse because I was set up for all of it and I played through like a little puppet, and she was the puppeteer pulling all of the strings to fit her own desires. When was it my turn to be the puppet master? Despite the bluntness of the words, I couldn't deny that I wanted to just shout out 'I want a turn!'

I rubbed my head with one hand and covered my eye with the other, groaning of my newly-discovered loathing of both gravity and rocks. And maybe a little of Salamon. "I don't know what hurts more; my eye, my head, or the fact that I just did that."

I flipped over onto my back, my neck feeling like it was just about to snap in half from supporting my body. "That was…extremely…uncomfortable." I lost my words as I noticed Henry was giving me a weird look with a raised eyebrow, in my head changing the words around to the tension I felt between us being the thing that was uncomfortable instead, forget the fall.

"You okay?" He questioned, looking as though he was debating whether or not to help me or not. His soft lips—I mean, his mouth was curved into a confused o-shape, and his bright silver eyes disappeared several times under his eyelids to help support his facial expression. Even with dirt covering his clothes and a little on his face, all it did was remind me of the song Angels With Dirty Faces by Sum 41. And once that came to my head, the theme of angels kept reappearing, reminding me of Hinder's Lips Of An Angel. I was doomed once I hit that.

"As good as I'll ever be…" I mumbled, my voice hardly legible. I didn't care about how vocal or quiet my voice came out; I was focused on the temperature that seemed to be constantly rising every second. I wished there was something I could look in to see my reflection, to make sure I wasn't blushing like mad. Although I couldn't convince myself that there was a sliver of a possibility that it wasn't. So I decided to hide my face, nonetheless, and began climbing once again.

I gave Salamon a death stare, so she knew not to try anything stupid again for the risk I may lose it and want to strangle her. For once she complied, knowing for once not to mess with me, and I pulled myself up. I frowned and sat down with my back against the wall, crossing my arms and making sure not to think too hard about anything of certain significance.

Henry pulled himself up and walked over to the pack leaning against the wall opposite me, slinging over his head so the strap went diagonally around his chest. He began to answer the question Takato presented earlier right when Salamon had sneezed. "I came here because Yamaki gave my dad a call and said there was strange electronic activity going on in this area. I thought it might be because the portal was reopening."

"And…? What is the news?" Takato held his fists balled tight in anticipation, looking as though he was going to pop from the eagerness, which if he was, I didn't want to be there to witness. God knows what that may look like.

"So far…nothing." Takato's face grew dead like someone just pulled the plug to a blender and his head dropped as he let out a sigh. "Although…" The gogglehead's head shot back up in a second at the possible positive side of Henry's words, so fast I heard a painful-sounding snap come from his neck. "Since there was one energy spike after weeks after inactivity, there is a possibility that there could be more, maybe even a temporary opening to the Digital World that the Digimon could get through. But the chances that they'd even sense that it's opened are even slimmer."

Takato's eyes suddenly sparked with inspiration. "What if we go in and get them when it opens? It'd be no different than when we went to get Calumon! We just have to make sure none of us get separated again this time and we'll be back out in no time!"

The bluenette shook his head in disregard to my cousin's words. "That'd be just foolish. You know how difficult it was to get back last time, and the portal may permanently close while we're still in there. I'm sorry, Takato, but that's not a good option, especially we'd be going in almost completely unprotected. We had the Digimon last time; we could be attacked."

Salamon scowled at his last remark. "Hey, don't leave me out of this conversation. I can kick some major Digi-butt I'll have you know. I may be cute and sensible—" _Which part of your personality are you referring to when you say that?_ "—but I'm not a hackie sack that just anyone can hit around! And if you don't believe me, I'll get my foot up your—" I cut my partner off.

"Salamon!" I snapped loudly, giving her a glare of narrowed eyes. "You have nothing to prove, so just lay off." My sudden outburst surprised even myself, but it wasn't without reason. When Salamon got this way, there wasn't much stopping her after it was too late. "Fight when there's an actual battle at hand, all right?" I tried to lighten my gaze, forcing light-hearted emotions to flow up and display themselves on my face.

Salamon saw my expression as how it was when I had snapped at her and gave me an understanding gaze. This was the time when she always obeyed me. And since she understood me, and actually did obey, she knew I was waiting for her to apologize to him. For a while I thought she wasn't going to do it—she never outwardly said sorry to anyone—but then she turned towards him, bowed her head down and mumbled, "I'm sorry, Mr. Wong, sir. I'll try to control myself better next time."

Not only did the whole concept of her apology make me stare a little in awe, but all the more surprising was the formality of which she did so. That name, _Mr. Wong_, it made him seem very distinguished and regal, like he was someone of great importance and intelligence. I didn't doubt the second, but nonetheless, Salamon's words had seemed to put him on a pretty high pedestal when looking at it the way I had seen it.

My partner then looked at me with a small, pleasant smile put upon her lips at that instant. "Was that good enough?" she questioned, using the words a little kid might have considered when they hit their sibling or something and was forced by their parents to apologize.

I let a similar smile creep onto my face, cocking my head over to one side while looking at her with contentment. "Perfect, Sal," I replied with a low chuckle that came up from the bottom of my throat. It almost surprised me how quickly we could resolve these things, mostly by things that only our eyes could say. Things that words couldn't have put together.

Takato sighed, apparently by the look on his face, trying to move on from the awkward silence that had just overcome the little building, and so spoke to break it. "Okay, so Henry, how do you know if there's any of those electric surges or whatever? Do you have to wait around just for Yamaki to give you a buzz and tell you?" I wondered who this Yamaki-guy was exactly and what he had to do with this whole thing.

Henry's eyes trailed off of Takato and around the room for a split-second. "Well, I had a theory…" He pulled out his D-Arc, colored plain white with green trim. "That maybe since the D-Arc can pick up a Digimon's location, it could also pick up digital activity, since both have the same computerized, data composition. So plainly speaking, monitoring the assiduity of the data, it'd be almost exactly the same as merely tracking a Digimon."

I had to admit that I was rather impressed with his hypothesis. I wondered how much thought and research that had really taken him to gather what seemed to be such a simple concept. That guy was just full of surprises. _Wow, he's not just eye candy, but he's also got a surprise center of great intelligence…_

Takato, despite his idea of going to the Digital World being turned down without not even the smallest amount of argument, grinned. "That means all of the Tamers can keep a tab on it. That's so awesome, Henry! Now I can know the exact minute that the gate opens, and maybe Guilmon will be there too!" He looked so happy he probably was holding himself back from crying. And there was just something about my cousin; whenever he was happy and smiling, you just had to be happy and smile along with him; it was contagious.

I let my eyes disappear momentarily with my beaming. I then got up off the ground and onto my feet. I was just too upbeat now to remain sitting, I had to be at least moving a little. Normally, when I was really bursting with happiness, I would be running around like I was insane, but now wasn't exactly a good time or place for that for the chance I may make a bigger fool of myself than ever before by falling down into the hole again. The only time I'd have no shame doing that while I was at this current location is if I won the lottery.

"Well, I gotta go and report back to my dad. See ya later, guys." Henry made his way out of the building and began walking down the stairs. My eyes automatically moved with his moving figure and I hadn't noticed that my whole head was pivoted to see him in a way that made it appear that I was completely staring at him.

Before I could really take into account what he was doing, Takato then ran out of the building and began talking with Henry in a tone that my ears couldn't register unless I truly wanted to eavesdrop on their conversation. I saw my cousin talking with his hands, something he always did to emphasize his point, and the bluenette in response shrugged. Takato must've known I was watching, because he then turned and gestured for me to come over, of which I complied to with the slightest hesitation and wonder of what he had just discussed.

"What?" I didn't know if that was the proper question to ask, since I wasn't totally sure that I really wanted to know. For all I knew, he just invited Henry to go with us to find long lost treasure or something. For Takato, everything was a possibility.

"Takato told me you wanted to meet all of the Tamers. My younger sister is a Tamer, and also, my dad might want to talk to you to ask you some questions as to why you have a Digimon and no one else's came back yet," Henry answered quickly, somehow summing all that up into only a mere two sentences.

Salamon leapt up onto my shoulder, startling me by her sudden movement and immediate presence, and she exclaimed, holding back a bit of laughter, "Sweet. We get to see the sexy bluenette's bachelor pad!" She looked at me, grinning so wide it seemed like there shouldn't have been enough room for the rest of her face on there, and holding her paw out towards me. "Knucks, Rai!"

I merely stared at her like she was completely nuts, making her frown back at me. Though I wasn't saying that she really wasn't; she was, there was no doubt about it. "I'll pass. You're scaring me today."

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**I'm sorry if that chapter kind of ended quickly, I just wanted to post. But nevertheless, please review, this story really needs the support to keep it going.**


	8. Chapter 7: The Reason Behind Glass Doors

**I sincerely apologize for how long the updates have taken. Life happens, but now I'm on track with this. Hopefully, I'll get back into my pattern of posting every few weeks, instead of the months this has taken. **

**But I'm back now, and will continue like originally planned. So finally, I present chapter 7, the funnest chapter to write so far. Suzie is so awesome to write about!

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Chapter 7: The Reason Behind Glass Doors

Henry lived in a large apartment building a short walk from Shinjuku Park. He lived one of the highest stories of the building, a large, fancy apartment that could've easily been the size of a large single-level house. I couldn't have even imagined how much the rent was, but according to all the times and the context in which Henry mentioned his dad, I could figure that his family could afford to live in a place like that.

The door led directly to the living room, and there were doors that lead off to the left and off to the right to different rooms. The opposite wall was covered with a large picture window, a television in front of it with all the furniture angled towards it, and there was a sliding glass door that led out to a balcony overlooking the city. Nothing seemed in disarray, the entire room seemingly almost completely spotless with nothing out of place. If this was in a cartoon, I would've bet that this was one of those places that would've had sparkles glimmering off the furniture and countertops.

"So, how many girls are you allowed in your pad a week? 'Cause once they get in here, I bet they never want to leave," Salamon noted, inspecting the apartment as if expecting to see a bunch of girls lounging around like they lived here as Henry merely just gave a dumbfounded look in response. "Hey, there's one now! But…don't you think she's a bit young for you?"

"Hendwy! Hendwy! I'm stuck and it's dawk in here!" A little girl came running, probably around six or seven years old, bumping into things as she darted over, with her head stuck halfway through the sleeve of a yellow jacket and seemingly unable to get out. She was running around completely blind, so there was no telling as to how she knew that it was Henry that had gotten home.

"Suzie, how did you manage to get your head stuck again? I already told you, the big hole is for your head and the small ones are for your arms." Henry crouched down, seeming to be relatively irritated (probably because it happened more than once already, hence the word 'again'), and pulled her head out of the sleeve of the jacket. "Why didn't you unbutton your coat before trying to put it on?"

I now saw that under the jacket, the girl was wearing a pink kimono style shirt with darker pink pants. Her purplish pink hair was pulled back into two little pigtails that stuck out the sides of her head and matched her (again) pink eyes (I was starting to sense a pattern). "Because I was twying to get it off. Silly Hendwy."

Even though I wasn't exactly a person to like little kids for the facts that 1) they always asked 'why?', 2) they never sat down, and 3) in some way, they'd always prove to be smarter than me, I smiled at the words of the little girl that reminded me of a cereal commercial. "Yeah, silly, _Hendwy_, Trix are for kids."

The little girl, apparently Suzie, suddenly laid her eyes on me as if she hadn't noticed me before while having her little jacket dispute, and her eyes grew really large, the size of discuses to be almost completely exact. Her head then shot over at Henry with her lips curved into a pout, "Hendwy! When did you get a giwlfwiend, and why didn't you tell me about hewr? Why, Hendwy, why?"

Despite the low clarity of her words, I knew exactly what she said, and because of it, I felt my face turn beet red. I felt my voice crack in my embarrassment as I struggled to make an excuse, "I'm not—"

Before I could actually finish, Henry cut in, saying, "She's not my girlfriend, Suzie." His eyes flickered toward me for a split-second, as if making sure I was still there. "This is Takato's cousin, Shirai. She's visiting for a while." He waited patiently for a response.

She looked me up and down as if she was looking for something to point out that was worth noting, squinting her eyes tight to give the impression she was focusing really hard. "Are you as angwy as the angwy kid?" she inquired, peering at me from all angles like she was actually searching for signs of anger on my person.

"For the last time, I'm not angry!" Takato cut in, though his tone didn't actually support his point he was trying to make with his words. But then he realized this, so he cleared his throat and said as calmly as he could, "I mean, I'm not angry. Do I look angry to you?"

"Yes." That was the end of that conversation, because at that moment, the girl noticed Salamon and instantly, her eyes lit up like a neon sign. "Ooh! Pwetty puppy!" She snatched up my partner of whom I almost pitied at that particular moment in time and hugged her in a suffocating embrace. "You'wre so cute! I will hug you and love you and change youwr diapewrs evwry single day!" _What the heck?_

"Oh dear God…" Salamon groaned in between gasps for air. A smidgen tighter and I would've thought that her eyes would've popped out of their sockets. "Rai, whatever I did to deserve this, I'm sorry! Just make the torture end! I'll even say please!"

While I decided to sit on the sidelines for this one, thinking this might get progressively more amusing, Henry became to be the one to look out for my Digimon's safety and oxygen supply. "Suzie, you're choking Salamon. Maybe if you're nicer, she'll play with you," he tried, trying to put a suggestive smile on his face.

As Suzie complied with a high-pitched 'okay!', Salamon sent him a glare that could almost kill. "Now look at what you did. I have to play with her now! And that might be just as dangerous, if not, more!" She continued to glare as Suzie carried her over to the couch to play with her. "I won't forget this, you sexy jerk!"

Henry briefly looked at me with a raised eyebrow as if I was the one behind this and I replied to his glance, "Don't look at me, I didn't teach her that." To be honest, I didn't have any clue as to where she picked up that behavior. Probably TV, although she wasn't just a little angel when we first met, either. So I figured that television only encouraged her. And gave her a bigger vocabulary.

Around this time, a man probably in his mid-forties or so, walked in the room. "Henry, you're back. What's the news?" I immediately assumed this was Henry's father, since he had mentioned that his father had sent him to Guilmon's home…thing. And plus, the resemblance between them was a pure giveaway.

Henry shook his head, his navy hair swaying with the motion and causing my eyes to follow involuntarily. "No, sorry, Dad. It was a false alarm, although I'll keep a tab on the area and check back every few days or so." I saw his face change from the firm and down-to-business expression that had come upon his face when his father entered to a slightly more relaxed expression, like now the tension was off his shoulders. "But I did bring someone I'd like you to meet. This is Shirai, Takato's cousin. She's a Tamer." He gave me a nod of his head, signifying that it was my time to join the conversation and speak for myself.

I didn't know exactly how to greet him, so I gave the traditional bow and said, "Konnichiwa, Mr. Wong. It's a pleasure to meet you, sir." The formalities felt strange on my tongue, feeling highly foreign to me because I hardly ever used manners when meeting someone, hardly ever anything more than a simple, quick, and easy hello. "Call me Rai."

Smiling politely, he outreached his hand and I accepted the offer of shaking it as he responded, "The pleasure is all mine. It's not every day that Henry brings a girl home." He laughed to himself as I heard Henry groan and I felt the room grow into an inferno all around me in a single instant. Did all of his family ask things like that with every girl they met?

"_Dad~…_" Henry moaned in almost a squeak. His voice sounded like he swallowed something a little too large to fit in his throat and was pleading for someone to help out and give him the Heimlich Maneuver.

His father merely laughed once more, his eyes disappearing under his eyelids when he smiled. "I'm sorry, kids. My father used to do the same thing to me. And your reactions are worth it." He got back on topic quickly, as if what just happened never even occurred. "So what made you decide to drop by, Rai?"

I adjusted my gaze as I thought back. Or at least tried to. "I honestly have no idea anymore." I looked at my cousin and Henry for some sort of support and help for recollection. "Did I just follow you home for no reason?"

Takato apparently remembered the whole reason of it all, and he piped up, "Rai has a Digimon. We thought you might know why that is, sir, since no one else's Digimon has come back yet." He gestured over to the couch where Suzie had taken my helpless partner to her doom. "She's a Salamon, soon to be Princess Prettypants." I ignored the ending, knowing that I was soon going to find out. I already knew that Henry's little sister wasn't exactly all there.

Before anymore could be said, a girl called into the room, sliding one of the doors open that lead to another part of the apartment, "Dad, is Henry home? Mom wants to know if she should put lunch on the table!" She poked her head through, revealing by her face to be slightly older than myself. Her short purple hair hung down in front of her face. "Oh, I didn't know we were having company. Hello, Takato!" I thought for sure that I saw her wink at him. Wasn't he popular?

He grinned cheesily, like this was a place that he suddenly didn't want to be and he was merely pretending to be glad to see her, of whom I gathered was another one of Henry's siblings. "Oh, hey…Jaarin." And it seemed that he suddenly forgot her name for a moment, too.

She giggled at his recognition of her identity before quickly taking notice of my presence. "Heyya! Who're you? I don't recall ever seeing you before!" She seemed really bubbly at this current moment in time, ready to meet and greet just about anyone that walked through the door.

I went back to my normal salutation, now that I wasn't talking to anyone worth using formalities on. "I'm Rai, Takato's cousin. And the Digimon over there being tortured by Suzie currently is my partner Salamon. Say hi, Sal!" I called over to the other side of the room.

"Hey, nice to meet you! And now do me a favor and help me out!" My Digimon yelled, though never giving any hint as to what was going on over on that couch. And things made me a bit reluctant to know.

She laughed, probably seeing this as a typical situation. "I'm Jaarin, Henry's older sister. You're welcome to stay for lunch if you guys want; it's almost done." She primarily looked at Takato when saying the last bit. "I'll get you when it's all ready!" She then poked her head back in through the doorway and was gone out of sight.

I punched my cousin on the shoulder and because of it, he gave me a look like I had just blown in his ear. "Hey, I think she likes ya. You got a lot of little fangirls slash stalkers slash potential girlfriends. Kudos to you, Tomato." I gave him a thumbs up and a small smile, which only made him look at me with an expression that clearly asked, 'why do you find pleasure in this?'

And in a few moments of Jaarin's absence, an older woman that was almost identical of facial features and hair as the girl that was there a minute before walked into the room. She smiled sweetly at the group and said, "Jaarin said we had guests. Hello Takato—" He smiled back, the awkwardness gone now that it wasn't someone overly obsessed with him. "—And you must be Rai."

I gave a grin, feeling sorta embarrassed that everyone was trying to be nice to me merely because it was the first time meeting me. This happened everywhere I went, you'd think that I was used to it by now, but it was something that I never really got over. It was a new, yet each time similarly familiar experience. "Heh. Hi there."

"Lunch will be ready shortly. Henry, go get your brother while I start setting the table." _Wait, there's more siblings? How many are there?_

As Henry complied and ran off down the hall on the opposite side of the room, I suggested to Mrs. Wong, since I didn't want to be standing around doing nothing like an idiot, "I can help you set up if you want." After she accepted with a smile, I followed her into the next room, where I was greeted with a large dining room table. There was one more doorway beyond it where I could smell food cooking, making me gather that it was the kitchen.

I was asked questions about where I came from, how my stay was, and just the typical things that I was always asked as I put down the bowls and plates into their places at each spot. But it was rather unique than when as I was inquired by new instructors or my new friends or someone; she seemed to care more than most of them. They normally asked to be polite, but she really appeared to want to know. I could tell already that I'd want to spend a lot of time with this family, they seemed to be more united than most I knew.

A few minutes later, interrupting our conversation, a kid with chocolate brown hair darted into the room, wearing a shorts and a t-shirt that were both soiled with grass stains and dirt. "Hi mom!" He breezed past into the kitchen to where the food was. "Bye mom!"

Mrs. Wong looked in the direction he had gone and called into that room, "Rinchei, you could've least change your clothes. You were home from soccer for hours!" She placed a hand on her hip, holding plates at her side in the other hand. Her tone sounded serious, but I could see on her face that she didn't have much of a problem with this, like it always occurred. And I didn't doubt that it did.

As Henry and Takato walked into the room casually, showing no relation at all whatsoever with the boy that just stormed through, Rinchei retorted back to his mother, "Sorry, Mom, I'm eating! Kinda busy! I'll change later!" I could hear his response through a stuffed mouth; I knew that annunciation anywhere.

Mrs. Wong merely smiled at her son's response and turning to me, saying, "That boy is why I make so much food. He eats it all before any of us get to us, and never gains a pound." She put her arm around Henry, who was taking the plates off her hands to finish, and because of this, was temporary halted and now the center of attention. "Isn't that right, Henry?" She glanced at me and Takato, who were standing there with unsure faces, directing to the next part to us. "Henry's handsome, but as skinny as a mosquito."

Judging by how red the bluenette's face became, I could tell that this was something that his mom said often to visitors, something that he didn't like all that much. "_Mom_~…" Here was the same tone he used when his dad was teasing him. I could tell that this was a theme of his parents to embarrass him in front of everyone.

He frowned as his mom giggled in her amusement and he began to place the rest of the plates, taking the spare back into the kitchen. His mom watched him leave and when he was gone, she said, "He doesn't like it when we embarrass him in front of his friends. But don't worry about him, he knows he's good-looking."

"Moooom!" Henry's voice echoed from in the kitchen.

Mrs. Wong laughed at the fact that her son was able to hear her last comment and excused herself into the next room to help with the food. At this time, I looked at Takato, who returned the look, and shrugged. Despite how much I liked the family, I wasn't really sure if I would've been able to have parents like that. And seeing Takato's current expression, I didn't think he would've been able to, either. Though his parents were sure something, too.

"Rai, can you come in here for a moment?" Mr. Wong's voice rang in from back in the living room, which almost surprised me. For a while, I forgot that there were more people here besides who were in the kitchen at that moment in time.

I walked back into the previous room, where I saw the blue-haired man sitting on the couch watching Suzie doing something to Salamon that I couldn't see from that distance away. "Yeah? Is there something wrong? I'll give you permission to deal capital punishment if Sal does something you don't approve of." I slid my hands into my pockets and leaned against the arm of the sofa at the time that I got over there, wondering if Mr. Wong was going to ask about what I said about capital punishment. He'd probably think I'm insane if I had said it with a straight face.

"I just thought you should see this." He pointed at Salamon, who was glaring death at me for my betrayal and covered with Suzie's handiwork. Her face was powdered pink with blush and she was wearing a baby's bonnet and a poorly-pinned diaper.

When she blinked, I noticed the eyeshadow, which didn't exactly compliment the baby outfit that she was put it. "You're a dead man," she threatened, never once giving the gesture that she was only bluffing. And there was never a time when she lacked an innocent, I'm-just-kidding kind of action. Until now. And this very fact made me nervous. Extremely nervous.

Suzie ran over, shouting to Salamon in her high-octave voice while grasping something in her hand, "Pwincess Pwittypants! I have your pacifiewr! Awn't you excited?" I knew that I wouldn't have been if I had been my partner. To be honest, at this particular second, I was almost scared of Henry's little sister. I wouldn't want to doom anyone to that sort of treatment. But Salamon was already getting it, so I had to compromise.

"Oh God, oh God, oh God…" Salamon's glare faded instantly into a wide-eyed expression as she saw Suzie nearing quickly. But before she could get to my Digimon, Mrs. Wong shouted for everyone to eat, and Salamon was gone in a flash, the outfit shed like a snakeskin. "Thank the Lord! I'm free! Oh sweet freedom!" She whooped in her escape of a near-death experience again and again as she ran into the dining room.

Mr. Wong and I looked at each other, and then down at Suzie who was seemingly disappointed that her little dress-up buddy had fled the scene. I couldn't help but laugh at this, since it wasn't everyday that Salamon got her just desserts. Actually, when this occurred it was usually dealing with little kids.

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I didn't say anything during the meal about this, but my mind repeatedly kept returning to a slightly jealous feeling that seemed to dwell over me like a cloud. I never ate meals with my parents, much less held a long conversation with them that I actually spoke of my own person. The Wongs, I quickly found out, were a tightly-wound family that had hardly any secrets among them. I found envy in that, a feeling I just didn't like looming around when knowing that I could change things so my family was the exact way as theirs but was too lazy to do so.

All the words said at the dinner table were light-hearted and innocent, but as soon as it was all over, Mr. Wong got right down to business. We sat down on the couch in the living room, Takato cramming in between me and the arm of the couch, and Henry sitting in a chair. Salamon had taken her place on the back of the sofa, looming over the conversation.

"So exactly how did you get your partner?" Mr. Wong inquired, starting off simple and asking that I think back an amount. But it was hard for me to forget that day; it was when all of the weirdness of my life had all started.

"Ooh, I like this story!" Salamon exclaimed, at the moment that I had began saying, "Well, it was a while back…"

_[Flashback]_

_At the sound of the doorbell, I walked over to the door irritated with the continuous number of people that had decided to drop by on that particular day. So figuring it was again another salesman, I opened the door, looked around and saw nothing. _

_But then I heard the sound of someone clearing their throat, and I looked down, seeing Salamon there with a big fat grin on her face. "Hey hey! Guess what! I'm moving in! Now first off, where's your kitchen?" I remember thinking at this particular moment, 'Oh God, karma's coming back to me once again…'_

_But then things got worse. My mom, apparently expecting a long talk with a salesman as well, walked over past me, saying, "I'm sorry, but—" But then she saw who was really at the door and screeched, "Back away, stray! Shoo!" _

_As if that wasn't enough, she pulled out a broom and began to whacking Salamon with it. Salamon was caught off guard and was subject to the beating. She was yelling, "C'mon, Lady, what the beans? I'm cute, I'm sweet, I'm so frickin' lovable!"_

_[End Flashback]_

"Oh yeah, maybe that _wasn't_ the story that I liked…" Salamon mumbled, now the reminiscence back into her head. "…Ooh, I remember what one I liked! Tell them how you got the D-Ark!" She gave that little puppy grin that was her signature expression.

"Crap…" I grumbled, beginning with this story from the same day, just a few minutes later.

_[Flashback]_

_Still standing on my doorstep, I was talking to Salamon and making sure she wasn't some weird nut or I wasn't going insane or a combination of the both. And I just had to mention the very thing that I remembered from the Digimon TV show, "Hey, don't DigiDestined get Digivices too?"_

_Salamon smirked and answered with a level of smugness in her voice, like she knew all about this, "Oh yah, of course. It's coming."_

_This part had slightly surprised me. Either she was bluffing or she knew exactly what was going on here. So, not sure what to really respond with, I questioned, "It's what?"_

_THUNK!_

"_Ow! What the hell?" I was suddenly clunked in the head by a chunk of metal. Seeing the D-Ark sitting on the ground at my feet, apparently having materialized above my head (who's the genius that willed that to happen?), I groaned, "God must hate me…"_

_[End Flashback]_

By the end of my remembrance, Salamon was laughing at me in full mockery of all that had managed to occur that day, most to all of which was all her fault. That there is what she called generousity. "Yep, that's the one! Man, I love you, girl! You're just so stupid!"

I frowned in accordance to my arrogant partner, as I turned to Mr. Wong and questioned, "Okay, Mr. Wong—" He cut me off before my inquiry could come out of my mouth.

"Janyu." He corrected the name title I gave him before saying, "What we've learned from the past is that you receive your Digimon in ways depending on what you love and enjoy." _Okay… so then what about me? I like answering the door?_

Henry decided to add onto the conversation with his own personal experience to support Janyu's theory. "I enjoy video games and I got Terriermon from a Digimon game." He glanced at Takato, who was about to speak.

"And I love drawing. When I first drew Guilmon, he came to life through the drawing." He then decided to add on some support to the conversation, "Then Rika loves playing the card game and dreamed of being the best Tamer. Renamon came to her to become the partner of the strongest Tamer." He tried to think back to give another example. "…And Kenta likes to put stuff in his pocket and that's where MarineAngemon came from!"

Awkward silence as everyone stared at Takato.

"Awk_ward_!" Salamon piped up, putting extra emphasis on the second syllable of the word. Even that didn't seem to fill the noiselessness of the situation.

I decided to use my curiosity to get out of the room, since I didn't think it was gonna get any better from here. "Hey, Henry, do you get a good view of the city from the balcony?" I questioned, not really caring if he actually answered me, just using it as a way to excuse myself away from the conversation.

He smiled at my question, probably because he knew it was in the form as a hidden excuse and he saw my reasoning behind asking it. "Yeah, you can see all the way to the outskirts of Shibuya. I can point some things out to you if you want," he suggested, getting to his feet at the moment that I had begun to do as well.

My head instantly shouted out the word _panic_ and my being complied to it. I felt my face grow cherry-colored, but I couldn't just say no, I knew. I had nothing to say that would justify the refusal of his presence. "Eh…sure. Cool."

I walked with him over to the glass sliding door and he opened it for me. I thanked him quietly, my voice a little squeak, and walked through. He was about to go in next to me when…

THUNK!

"Ow…" I looked back and saw that he had missed the opening and slammed into the glass door. He then saw that he drawn attention to himself and blushed, and rubbing his head, said, "Heh, Windex really does work." He tried to get out a laugh, but it came out all high-pitched and weird-sounding, a rendition of the sound of Takato and helium.

"Good work, sexy boy!"

I laughed at what Salamon had called out to Henry, making him flustered all the more, which I hardly thought was possible at this point. He was such an amusing guy to watch when there were spectators making him screw up whatever he tried to accomplish. Who knew he'd be like this in situations such as these?

Deciding to give him time to retain his normal facial color, I walked over to the side and leaned over against the wall of the balcony that hung stories upon stories above the ground. It made my heart race at first, but my numerous experiences on a plane aided me in this recovery. "Wow, you can see a lot here," I stated, trying to find something good to say, but leaving that as the best.

Henry walked over and stood next to me, his eyes gazing around the city. "Yeah, it's much better at night, though. With all the lights, it seems like the stars are all around, above and below. Sometimes I just stand out here, looking at all the shapes I can see by connecting the lights. But what I see is always the same…" He frowned, growing silent.

"Your partner," I answered quietly, now learning just how much all the Tamers bonded with their Digimon while they were here in the Real World. It made me realize just how lucky I was to have my own partner here with me, never having to deal with losing her. That thought made me hurt, knowing now how much better off I was now. It made the envy I had previously felt fade away in an instant. "I'm so sorry, Henry."

He looked at me and I saw tears at the corner of his eyes. I felt instantly at fault, for bringing this up and opening up a subject I should've never brought up. I had made him like this. "It's not your fault. I just haven't gotten used to the fact that Terriermon's not here. And never will be…"

"C'mon, you can't talk like that. The other Tamers haven't given up faith. And if you don't believe Terriermon will come back, he won't. You just can't give up on that without a fight first." I smiled at him slightly, trying to lighten his mood as much as I could. "Here." I put my arms around him and pulled him close. I immediately loved and became addicted to the way he smelled, a pleasant scent I couldn't put my finger on. He was warm, a comforting sort of warmth.

I didn't want to let go of him, I _couldn't_ ever let go of him. I didn't want to speak, I didn't want sound to interrupt this moment in this single minute in time. One little thing could throw off the balance of this perfect serenity, change it all and ruin it. I couldn't—and I wouldn't—let that happen.

Though oddly and depressingly enough, I got my wish of a lengthened moment and it carried forward. But it moreover began to drag on and became kinda weird. We then sorta pushed ourselves away from each other, looking at each other with jaws set and mouths left slightly agape in a form of bewildered confusion.

I was the first one to speak and break this deranged spell upon us. "Well, that was sorta…strange." My eyes darted around everywhere but on him, feeling that eye contact wouldn't really help anything here.

He let out a small chuckle that wasn't quite as high as it was before, but still in a way, seemingly forced. "Yeah, kinda." I batted a single glance at him for a split second and noticed that he wasn't looking at me. _He's got such pretty eyes…_

Another awkward silence.

Henry broke it after a few moments that seemed to go on and last much longer than a few. "Well, I'm gonna—er, I mean, I need to—Uh, what did you say, Takato? Yeah, I'll be right there!" he was making his excuses to go back in (which didn't really go over well to begin with) and when he walked over to the door, he—

THUNK!


	9. Chapter 8: Just a Little Game

**Gomen nasai for the EXTREMELY late update. Track started so I've been busy with that, I lost my flashdrive with all of my 'fics on it over my entire spring break, so I didn't get to work at all, so for all this I'm so so sorry! I've only got a page written in Wherever You Will Go, so that might be a while. The main thing I wanted to do was update this one, since I hardly ever write in this 'fic anymore. I love my plot, so I really don't wanna give up on it. **

**But apologies aside, here's chapter 8 of my Tamers fanfiction. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 8: Just a Little Game

"Man, this is taking them way too long." I began to dry off my hair with a towel, having just turned off the shower after getting back from a nice long run. The night before, after Henry's little exploit of managing to run into a sliding door—twice—Takato "conveniently" decided to invite the bluenette on a run with me, of which he also invited himself on as well. And since neither one seemed to be the type to go out for runs every single morning, I found myself rather ahead of the game and always a block or two ahead and still increasing. "I lost track them a while back…"

As I began to wipe down my body, I heard the sound of the door shutting and then the proceeding sound of Takato's voice, which seemed to carry a heck of a lot more than it probably was supposed to and seemed to be answering something that Henry asked, "Huh, it doesn't look like Rai's here. Maybe she got lost somewhere. Oh well. So yeah, you can use the shower."

I didn't have any time to react before the door swung open and I found myself screaming as I wrapped myself up in the towel. "Henry, what the hell?" I shouted, the swearing just falling out of my mouth uncontrollably, feeling my face heat up like I had just stuck it in the oven, coming to the instantaneous realization that Henry had just seen me totally nude.

I had never seen his face turn so red since I met him. "Sorry! Sorry!" I could see his look change to one of complete and total panic, like he had just clicked the big red button that you're never supposed to click in all of those movies that I had seen. But right now, that was the least of my worries. Right now, I was one piece of cloth away from exposing myself completely.

And since I was pretty much at the panic mark myself, I did the first thing that came into my head. It had seen pretty reasonable at that hectic point. "Get out! Get out! Get out!" I screamed, grabbing a bar of soap and chucking it at him.

It nailed him on the head and seemed to just ricochet right off. And because it just managed to cluck him in noggin, he was quick to respond to the cheap shot that I was so eager to execute. "What was that for?"

And I had a response all ready to go like a key in the ignition. And it wasn't the fact that I was mad at Henry, despite the fact I just hit him with a bar of soap, it was really Takato that I was angry at. Man did he have the worst judgment. If we didn't look so frickin' similar, I wouldn't have believed we were even related. And at times, I wished we weren't. "If you weren't in here, it wouldn't have hit you! Now get the _hell_ out!"

He was swift to flee from the scene and as soon as the door slammed shut behind him, I proceeded to collect my misplaced marbles as I continued wipe myself dry. "This is one downside of this trip…" I mumbled to myself, feeling the blood pulsating in my head as I brought the soft towel against my skin and glided it up my legs, one after the other. "…And yet, somehow this seems pleasurable…Hmm…"

I put on the attire that I picked out for the day: slightly faded blue jeans; a plain, soft yellow t-shirt; and a red, short-sleeved, button-up jacket **[A/N: That's what I was wearing when I wrote this. If I was wearing different pants, I would be cosplaying Takuya]**. Then I ran a brush through my naturally messy-looking hair once before walking out, hardly ready to challenge the day, but if I that determined my attendance to the living all around me, I'd rarely even get out of bed. So this had to suffice.

Feeling my face retain its abnormal, cherry-red color as my eyes laid upon Henry, I frowned as Takato mumbled to the bluenette, "Yep, she's pissed." _Yeah, as if I wouldn't hear you talking about me. And I already know that I'm pissed._

Henry looked like he was trying hard not to groan at my cousin's overly-obvious statement and then answered back with a rhetorical question that was rather fitting to this situation and seemingly what I'd say at a time and situation similar to this one, "Whatever gave you that idea, Takato?"

I confronted my goggle-wearing cousin, my face inches from his just so I knew he could feel my breath on his face and gave my best Rika death stare that I could conjure up, along with a hiss, "I. Blame. You. And if you ever tell _anyone_ about this, I will hit you so hard that your great, great grandchildren will hurt. Am I clear, Tomato?" I narrowed my eyes even as he carried on with his answer, trying to portray the feelings that ran through me.

He gulped loudly, enough that I probably would've been able to hear him from across the room. "Crystal." I could hear his voice crack just in fear that I might hit him or something. But I shouldn't just tempt myself like that.

I suddenly grinned and slapped him on the back as hard as I would've if he was choking on some sort of food. "Hehe, I'm just messin' with ya, Veggie!" I retorted, though still feeling the embarrassment coursing through my veins. I wouldn't hurt Takato even if I wanted to. He was too light-hearted to deserve any of the violence this world held; any of the violence that he was caught up in with the D-Reaper incident.

There was a long awkward pause as no one else really knew how to go from there. And so I suggested brightly, almost in an uncontrollable manner, "Now, let's avoid this awkward moment by going outside and pretending like nothing happened! Like this!" I made my exit and left them wondering what the heck just happened right there.

I walked through the house and into the bakery, saying good morning to my aunt and uncle while doing so. Before I could exit, my aunt Mei called over to me, catching me right before I was about to step through the automatic door which had just opened at the detecting of my figure, "Going out, Rai? You better take your pet."

At this, I stopped, and veered my head around. _Pet?_ I felt my eyelids immediately tighten together. _Salamon._ "Oh God…" I groaned, looking at my aunt with the look that said 'what did she do _now_?' Ever since we had gotten here, Salamon was kinda on a short string with Mei. Sure, at first she loved the little devil to death for her outward cuteness, but that was opinion was short-lived as soon as she found out how much the beast ate in one sitting. And how much she loved to destroy things.

My uncle Takehiro took that as his cue to enter the room, holding a long loaf of French bread with a determined Salamon clamped onto one end with her teeth, heart-set on getting the rest of it into her belly. I wasn't sure how that'd actually all fit in there. "Hi, Rai!" my Digimon greeted me, never for a second loosening the tightness of her jaw.

I gave an unsure wave to my partner, envisioning a little sweatdrop dripping down the side of my face as I gave a cheesy grin. "Hey, Sal." I glanced at my uncle before saying, "She's not gonna let go until she knows it belongs to her. So you're gonna have to give it to her." It was rather embarrassing that my family had to go through so much bread only for me to make an excuse why it's justified for Salamon to eat it without pitching in or paying for it, but if I hadn't, this puppy Digimon probably—no, most definitely—would've gotten the boot a long time ago.

Mei signed as Takahiro merely chuckled and released the French bread, causing Salamon and her prize to drop to the floor with a thump. It seemed to please my uncle with each little victory my partner got, but I could only wish the same for my uptight aunt. I'd never say it to either one of their faces, but I preferred Takahiro over Mei, just for the freedom and crap. But this was confidential to my own thoughts, but that actually seemed to be popular opinion with all of Takato's friends as well.

I bowed to my relatives in my apology. I figured that that wouldn't cover my remorse enough after a certain point, so I had to use it as much as I could before the effect wore off with them. "Sorry, Mr. and Mrs. M!" I looked to my Digimon. "Come one, Salamon. We're headin' out." I began to head out the door, her at my heels.

Well, at least she was at my heels until she got to the door. The French bread she had wasn't quite short enough to get through the door, and so blocked her path, causing it to break in half when she tried to run through with it. And much to her dismay, the door closed in between her and her abandoned bread, and that was just too frickin' bad.

I scooped her up in my arms before she could turn back for her lost meal and it instantly went to the whining. "I told you that I don't like to be man-handled!" she complained, quoting Jedediah from the movie Night at the Museum. There were just some movies that she watched way too often, so often, in fact, she could probably recite the entire cast's lines in order from beginning to end. And this was one of those movies.

There was no hesitation in my response. It was out of my mouth in a single instant. "Shut up," I retorted back brusquely, ripping a chunk of her bread off and beginning to nibble on it, despite the complaints I was probably going to earn very soon that concern one of the following that was either 1) stealing, or 2) destruction of property.

"Is someone a little cranky?" I gave her a hard stare for her rhetorical question, saying nothing in response to it. "I thought running with your little sexy friend would've lightened your mood. Guess not. He better eventually or there's just no use of having him around." She suddenly grinned. "'Cept for something pretty to look at. Right, Rai?"

She was really trying to push my metaphorical buttons today. And this was more than usual. "Yeah. Sure." I turned my attention to the environment around us. I had begun walking down the sidewalk, scanning the windows of the buildings that towered over us. I stopped in front of the entrance of a card shop. "…Hey, check it out, Sal." I chuckled slightly, looking at the name of the shop and putting a grin onto my face.

"Yeah, this is so rich!" Salamon burst out laughing, nearly falling out of my arms and also dropping the French bread. "Who woulda thought that there was an actually trading card store called Card Shop? It's just like Yu-Gi-Oh!" She could hardly contain herself from the instantaneous excitement that suddenly sparked. "We _have_ to go in! Maybe Mr. Moto works here! And maybe Yugi! Ooh! Ooh! And maybe Yami! Yami is _hawt_!"

I got my pleasure in this as well, despite the fact the name was probably in order to attract random anime-fanatics like myself, and so I walked in the building. It was rather heart-breaking to Salamon that there was no one from the Yu-Gi-Oh show here, but I had to admit that it was a rather pleasant little shop. There were shelves lined with different types of trading cards, a few mangas and comic books, and varieties of guides and rulebooks. The room was lit with several lights and had posters of different characters and protagonists all over the walls that advertized countless franchises. A nerd's paradise, ladies and gentlemen.

I paced the aisles, glancing here and there, glancing at all of the types of trading cards available. Catching my eye, I noticed a booster box with Angewoman printed on the package, briefly looked at the price, and then questioned to Salamon, "What do ya think, Sal? Worth the money?"

She gave her famous puppy grin as she immediately exclaimed, her eyes twinkling with delight, "Heck yeah! _I'm_ on that box!"

* * *

After getting out of Card Shop, I walked to Guilmon's old home-place, where I figured that Takato would be at this point in the day. Except much to my surprise all of the guy Tamers that I had been introduced to at this point were there. They were all gathered around in a circle in the middle of the floor of Guilmon's house. I instantly saw that Kazu was whipping Kenta's gay, sorry butt at the Digimon card game.

I blinked a few times as I watched Kazu throw down a card, give a weird little cheer-whoop-brag-thing, and Kenta fall over backwards in defeat. "Man you guys are eccentric. It's just a game." They all peered to look at me as I said this and as I pulled out my box of new cards. "A game I'd like to learn how to play." I looked about at them, their attention now all on me. "Who's the unfortunate candidate that's gonna teach me?"

"Hey! No girls allowed!" Kenta wailed, a fast recovery from on the ground and back up to a sitting position. But it seemed like everyone just ignored him. Haha, poor sap.

Kazu, apparently giving not a crap to what his friend just blurted out, was the first to jump up, waving his hand in the air like an over-eager kid wanting to answer a question in school. "Ooh! Ooh! Pick me, Cupcake! Pick me!" His grin grew to easily the size and shape of a banana as he was the only one to vocalize their offer at this point.

Takato grinned deviously, his eyes darting over to Kazu without turning his head having a little glint within them. He then retorted rather flatly, right in the perfect moment to do so, "I think she meant someone with skill."

"Burn!" I exclaimed suddenly, causing everyone to give me a weird look. "What? Gotta commemorate a good burn. Nice going, Cous." I cast him a smile before getting my mind back onto the current conversation on hand. But it really was a good burn. Salamon has taught my cousin oh-so well. And maybe potentially too well.

"Well, then it can't be you then!" Kazu countered Takato, trying to get a good mark against the damage already thrown against him. But since this one really sucked, I was pretty sure I could hear crickets filling the silence. _Cricket, cricket…_

My cousin wiped off the visor-wearing kid's remark like dust collected on a shelf and then said rather matter-of-factly, "I didn't mean me anyway. Why would I want to teach _her _how to play Digimon? She's my _cousin_." He said it as if my relation to him was disgusting or something. Trying to act tough in front of all of his buddies. Must be a guy thing that went along with asking directions.

"'Cause you're just that nice of a person?" I questioned rhetorically, knowing that he didn't really give a crap anyway. I heard Salamon right after I said this make a 'Pfft! Yeah right!' from on my shoulder and the 'pfft' casting spit from her mouth onto my cheek. _Yeah, gee thanks._

Again, Takato managed to just brush off the words directed to him as he responded, "Yeah. Sure. Let's go with that. Actually I was thinking, Henry because—" I cut him off before he could finish whatever he was saying.

"You don't wanna show me how much you suck?"

He narrowed his eyes at me and crossed his arms across his chest. Apparently I wasn't allowed to insult his Digimon card playing skills or something. Because it grew deathly silent at that point, even the crickets stopped and that always meant something big. "I'm just gonna ignore that remark…" _Yeah, like you have for the past while,_ I answered mentally.

I couldn't help but grin, playing my words how they instantly appeared in my head, keeping rather calm throughout my speaking. "You're really pissed now, aren't you? I can see it in your eyes. You're burning up inside, Tomato. Soon you'll be a cooked vegetable, maybe even a steamed vegetable. I'd pay to see that one."

"You're still on the tomato-thing?" He actually seemed surprised at this, even though he should've known enough by now to realize it just won't stop.

My voice came out rather proud and pleased with myself. "It shall never die…" After a moments pause and with no other remarks coming my way, "Well, anyway, back to the original topic of discussion… Who will it be?"

Instantly, Kazu came up to me again, moving with practically light-speed. "It's not too late, Cupcake! I'll show you a time you'll never forget—" _Are you turning this into who gets to go on a date with me?_ "—and show you more skill than any of these dweebs could ever display!" He sounded extremely big-headed, so big his head probably won't be able to fit through the doorway when he leaves.

And this was another insult to Takato's card-playing skills. But anything that Kazu said should've been like water on a duck's back to him by now. Maybe I just set him off for a jump off the deep end. "What? Are you saying you're a better Tamer than me?"

Kazu brought himself into a hunched up position, trying to make himself seem much taller than his goggle-wearing friend, trying to loom over him like a tower. "I don't lie." His smugness was building up like an over-inflated balloon, going hand-in-hand with his over-inflated ego.

"I'll make a liar out of you yet." Takato pulled out his cards and took Kenta's place where he was sitting, getting his game face on like he was preparing for some big war or something. And I had a deep suspicion that this might just be the beginning of World War Three.

"You're on, Chumley!" Kazu quickly collected his cards from the mat placed between them and shuffled the deck, never looking away from his new opponent. Their gazes were locked with a deep tension that couldn't be broken if you came at it with a hammer.

I inched over towards Henry, who hadn't spoken a single word through this entire event, and leaned over as I questioned in a half-innocent tone, pointing with a single finger over toward the bickering rivals, "Did I do that?"

The bluenette shrugged indifferently, not really glancing at me through this affair. "This happens a lot. You'll get used to it eventually." He waited for a response, but I gave him none, having little to nothing else to say in accordance with that matter. "C'mon, I'll show you how to play. That is…" He paused to glance back at Takato and Kazu, who were pretty much at each other's necks at this point. "…if you're still interested."

"Sure. I just know who not to ask for favors now." Beginning to open the box of cards, I followed him out of the building and to the stone steps that led down and through the whole park. We sat down on the top step and placed down the cards beside me. I bowed to show my respects, grinning. "Okay, what first, oh great card master sir?"

He chuckled at my remark, his beautiful blue hair blowing gently in the wind that had begun to blow. "First, we should probably start out with the basics, like distinguishing the different types of cards. You know what Modify cards look like, right?"

I scavenged through the cards and pulled one out, holding it out for him to see. "These are it, right?" But before I could say anything more, or he could respond, the card was whipped out of my hand and blew off somewhere before I could track it with my eyes.

But I instantly heard a cry coming from Takato an instant later, giving me the knowledge as to where it went. "Ow! Paper cut on my nose! Ow! Paper cut! Papercut!" I could hear his tone change immediately. "Okay! Who threw that card?"

Me and Henry exchanged glances and I mumbled, "Oops…"

After a few moments of merely pondering and absorbing the sound of my cousin's complaining, I heard the bluenette sitting next to me erupt into laughter. I smiled at the sound that came from his lips; it was so different, yet in some unknown way rather charming. And because of that, I couldn't resist the small desire to laugh along with him. The fact of what had just clearly gone down was in a demeanor, so astonishing, so accidentally yet perfectly executed, that it was worth laughing at, to be honest.

With a small chuckle, I made out the words to him, "Heh, your laugh." This was just something I couldn't hold back from him, even though he probably already knew this fact I was about to tell him.

He raised an eyebrow at my fragment. "What about it?" he questioned, looking at me with those bright silver eyes.

"I don't know," I responded back, grinning in a cheesy way and feeling my face turn a dark crimson hue because I had just realized what I had stepped into, "It's just that it's so…it's so dorky, it's cute."

His face gained that rosy pink hue as his eyes darted away from my face and disappeared under his eyelids momentarily. "Oh…uh, thank you, I…guess…?" It was apparent that by his reaction no one had ever complemented his laugh before. Such a shame.

To be sincere, I had no problem with this noting of his little…er, quirk, despite how it was actually written on my face. Some of these things could just fall out of my mouth without much difficulty, usually on its own and without my permission. It was one of those situations when my mouth didn't even give a crap as to what I thought.

I felt a smile creep onto my face, the satisfaction of flustering him in his words filling me like the warmth that comes with sipping sweet wine. Not that I drink or anything, it's just a very convenient metaphor that I happen to have a little bit of knowledge in—I mean, uh…ugh, never mind.

He scratched the back of his head, craning his neck so that I wasn't able to see his face at all. "Soooo…" I could just imagine the look on his face; that expression of muddle put together with his embarrassment. It was a great combination. "Wanna continue with the game?"

I shrugged, even though I knew that he couldn't see me do so. Then, grinning, I retorted back smugly, "Sure. If _you_ can without hitting Tomato with a card."

His head veered around to glance at me with one of his looks that showed that what I had just said didn't make any sense. "That was all you, Rai. I had no part in that."

"Ya sure?" I questioned. "'Cause I'm pretty sure you did."

He returned to me a puzzled expression, taking no time to consider his answer. "Yeah. Certain of it."

"Oh…Well, I still don't believe you."

"I've already stopped caring."

"Ah-hah! So I win, then!"


	10. Chapter 9: Too Far Away

**Yes! Finally finished with this chapter and it's probably one of my favorite ones so far! It's developing just how I want it to!**

**And I must apologize for practically neglecting this fanfiction for what could easily be a month or more, but this one took a lot of research to get all of the customs and Japanese stuff down. I had to watch countless YouTube videos and do research via Google.**

**Oh yes, and the main event in this chapter was inspired by the Endless Eight episodes from the anime The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, my newest anime addiction as of current. **

**And so, here is Chapter 9! :D**

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Chapter 9: Too Far Away

Takato never told me why we were suddenly running. All I knew is that we were. I didn't really like that expression I saw on his face; it was sorta like his game face, but with a twist of a bit more seriousness. And there weren't very many occasions when he put this look on, so seeing it unnerved me just a bit.

Salamon seemed a little tensed up as well. Her eyes were narrowed and deeply focused on the path ahead. Seriousness wasn't really her thing, and thus, I knew this had to be on many levels important, since she was acting up more than I had ever seen. But did she really have to leave me in the dark about this? She normally made me do the running and just yelled the directions for me to go, but no, this time she was going all on her own. Was I just too slow for her?

So in all honesty, I was the only one completely clueless as to what was going on at this particular moment, where we were going, and why we were going there. Actually, I digress a little. Salamon was leading, and whenever she'd swerve, Takato would be the next to turn, and I brought up this stupid little rear. So I guess my cousin didn't know _everything _as to where they were going.

I suddenly heard the words "…already on their way," come from Salamon's mouth to Takato, but I didn't catch any more than that. I immediately tossed around her meaning in my head, which could've easily been a variety of possibilities, yet didn't really connect many dots at this point. But it started to become a little clearer once I became aware that we were running up the steps at the Shinjuku Park.

Right when Guilmon's home came into my view and I was mere yards away, Salamon and Takato were already inside, and from there, I heard my cousin exclaim suddenly, the first word he said in the last while, "Guilmon!"

"What?" I didn't exactly get his meaning as I ran into the little one-room building, and forgetting there was a hole in the floor, had to stop quickly. But not stopping fast enough, I bashed into Takato and ended up knocking him into it. There was a high-pitched, 'Ow…' immediately after I heard him make his abrupt landing.

I slid down the side of the hole to make sure he wasn't permanently damaged, but stopped immediately, seeing Takato on his hands and knees, staring intently into the little tunnel that led onwards as if there was a pile of money just sitting there waiting for him to come and get it. But then I heard him make out that single word in just a little, hardly audible whisper, "…Guilmon."

Things started happening quickly all of a sudden, so fast I could hardly keep track. One moment, Takato's eyes start welling up with tears, the next he's on the ground with a red dinosaur-like Digimon on top of him and they're both laughing.

When the others arrived at the scene moments later (the others being Henry, Suzie, Rika, Jeri, Kazu, and Kenta), the chaos began. Suddenly, there were a buttload of different Digimon as well, most of whom I didn't have a clue who they were, and everyone seemed to all be talking at once in one, jumbled up mess that I decided to take no part in at this particular moment, since it was sort of awkward knowing that most of the Digimon and their Tamers were now crying. Wow. What saps.

Salamon jumped down from the top of hole directly onto my shoulder and then retorted, "Looks like a bad soap opera, doesn't it?" She was going to say more, but then stopped when Kazu suddenly made an exclamation.

"Hey, where's Guardromon?" His head was spinning around in all directions, but if my memory served me correctly as to the appearance of this said Digimon, he'd be extremely hard to miss. "He wasn't left behind, was he?"

A voice then echoed from inside the little tunnel, holding a nasally, almost robotic-sounding kind of tone, "Kazu, I do believe I might be stuck. May I ask if you have any butter?"

Thus began the problem that I dare not go into details with. All I can safely say is that it involved a lot of pulling, soap, and a crowbar. The rest is up to the imagination to fill in.

And after that substantial amount of disorder was done with, I was formerly introduced to all of the Tamers' Digimon, names that once I heard them, almost all rang a funky little bell in my head. A reason why I was grateful for the Digimon anime.

Takato's Digimon was Guilmon. As previously stated, he's a red dinosaur like creature. His chest was white with the Digital Hazard symbol on it, and on his arms and legs were black bands and unique little triangles. His face was that of a t-rex shape with three spikes coming from his cheeks on each side. His ears were like bat wings that sprouted upward from almost directly behind his large yellow eyes.

Henry's was a little rabbit-dog Digimon named Terriermon. His body was a manila color with various bands of green on his hands, feet, neck, and ears. His large ears extended from the top of his head down to the ground with two strips on each and tipped in green. There was a spike atop his head, just due north of his round eyes.

Suzie's Digimon, Lopmon, was in many ways similar to Terriermon. Just change the manila to brown, the green to pink, add two more spikes, and there you have it.

Rika's Digimon was probably the most majestic and beautiful in figure and design. Renamon was her name. She seemed to be based off of the Kitsune, having golden yellow fur, a mane of pur white, and purple fingerless gloves that went up past her elbows with the yin yang imprinted upon them. Her head was sleek in form, her long ears pulled straight back hehind. She had deep, penetrating, icy blue with zigzag marks directly below them.

Although it was not her Digimon, the one Jeri had introduced to me was called Calumon. He was a small white Digimon with ears that I quickly noticed could increase in size tipped in purple, big green eyes, and a symbol upon his head that consisted of three triangles surrounding a larger one. His voice was optimistic and cheery, so much so that I questioned mentally the possibility of him having ADD.

Guardromon, Kazu's Digimon, was the one stuck inside the hole. He was a large robot made of rusty brown iron and had an overall round figure with a small head. Out of the rectangular opening in his head, green semi-circle eyes peeked out that were permanently locked into an unenthusiastic-looking expression.

MarineAngemon helped me believe that Kenta was gay. He was a tiny, pink Mega that seemed like you could beat him with a flick between the eyes. Wings sprouted from his back and little ear-antennae things similar to Koromon's from his head. There was a little red heart on his chest and a Power Ring like Salamon's around his neck. He had a pair of emerald green eyes and seemed obsessed with saying the word 'Phoo!'

There were two other Digimon there whose Tamers were not present. The first introduced was Impmon, belonging to two young Tamers, Ai and Mako. He was a little purple elf-looking Digimon. He had pointed ears and a devious-looking face, his narrow green eyes being the main reason for this. He had a tattered red bandana around his neck just above an evil yellow smiley face on his chest that matched the gloves that he wore.

The last was a little purple (this is when I realized almost all their Digimon apparently liked purple) dragon named Monodramon. He stood on two legs, and had a stout, strongly-built figure. On his arms, he had small, wing-like things protruding and yellow marks on his shoulders. His face was very reptilian, a spike jutting out the top of his head tipped in yellow. His eyes were bright yellow, and between them was a tan, rough-textured diamond.

When looking at him as he was smiling at me, I questioned, "So who's his partner, then?" I pat the Digimon on the head; he seemed friendly enough. He had one of the awesomest voices to boot.

Rika was the one to answer, frowning while telling me, "Ryo Akiyama. You'd be better off not talking to him. He's a bad influence." Her voice was mostly flat and sounding just a hint annoyed. Apparently, she made it rather evident they weren't that they weren't exactly on the best of terms. And since I'd rather be on Rika's side than on that guy's, knowing that that fiery girl could do some serious damage if she tried, I complied and accepted her words for the truth that I figured it was.

The two Digimon whose Tamers were not present then departed to find their human partners after words of regards. The little room was still rather crowded, there now being about sixteen in total jammed within its small stone walls, so to celebrate the Digimon's return, we decided to go to the Shichigatsu Bon Festival being held for those in the Tokyo area.

Jeri, being a tradition fanatic, first insisted we got the proper Obon attire: light, colorful yukata. So she took us on that little venture which was a little over-extreme in itself (I dare not go into details for the cost of reliving that experience because I promised a select few that I wouldn't bring that to mind again), and we went in whatever she decided to pick out to match our own styles. And of course, these came from the money in our own pockets.

When we arrived at the Bon Festival, it sort of reminded me of a carnival or something. There were booths for food, merchandise, and games; older-style Japanese music; paper lanterns giving light to the festival; and traditional dancing. The sound of the beating of large drums reverberated in my ears like a hammer. I could just feel the excitement of being in a place like this building in my chest.

Salamon was gone in a single bound, calling back to me, "Catch ya later!" Leading the rest of the Digimon in a way that reminded me of how a general leads an army. _Off to make chaos and take over the world…_ My mind added, completing exactly what was probably the best description to just how fast and the manner of which the Digimon left. "Okay, guys, first we're gonna go and…" Her orders to the other Digimon were quickly illegible as they all dispersed into the crowds and out of sight and earshot.

And before I knew what was happening, Jeri had me by the sleeve and was pulling me along behind her, words coming from her mouth a mile a minute, "This must be your first time coming to the Bon Festival, so I'm gonna show you the best time ever!" She didn't notice me stumbling along on those Geta sandals I hadn't yet grown used to. Walking on those wooden teeth was a challenge all its own.

"Okay, but must we go so fast? I don't wanna take a digger into the ground!" I responded, trying to wiggle lose of Jeri's grasp, but soon seeing it as a lost cause. All I could really do was watch the ground below me and attempt to retain my balance. The attire that Jeri had picked out wasn't really well-suited for running.

Jeri slowed only slightly so I could stride alongside her and catch my breath. She was grinning practically from ear to ear as she exclaimed, "First we can go dipping for goldfish! I do it every year I come here!" Her enthusiasm didn't fade from her tone, making the bright yellow yukata seem to coordinate perfectly with her bright personality. It was dotted with orange and light blue flowers and had a matching sash around her waist tied into a big bow at the back. "I'm sure you'll love it as much as I do, Rai!"

I turned away so she couldn't see that I had narrowed my eyes at her words. "I'm sure, Jeri. So what exactly is this 'dipping for goldfish'? Is it how it sounds? 'Cause I've played a game where you throw a Ping-Pong ball and if it goes into a little cup with a goldfish in it, you win the goldfish. Like that?" I reviewed my previous carnival experiences in my head and that was the only thing I could come up with that related.

"Kinda. Here, try for yourself!" We stopped in front of a booth that had a little pool of water filled with many tiny goldfish swimming around, seeming already riled up from all the other people that decided to try. She paid for both of us and she handed me this strange net-thing that was made of plastic and had an opening covered with a thin plastic, and a small plastic bowl. She gestured to the net-thing. "This is a poi. You use it to catch the goldfish. But the plastic rips easily, so you can't move it fast. You play until the plastic is completely ripped off of the poi. Any goldfish you manage to scoop, you put it in the bowl. Ready, Rai?" She smiled, her face glowing with anticipation.

I shrugged indifferently. "As ready as I can be for catching little fish with saran wrap." I gripped the handle of the poi with one hand, the bowl half-full of water with the other and we both began. I tried to corner a little fish, but he squirmed away and darted off. It was about this time I realized just how hard it was do this. At first I thought it'd probably be a synch, but who woulda thought those stupid fish would have super speed?

I decided to go real slowly and try to sneak up on the fish. By the amount of time it took for me to conclude that I needed a strategy in order to not be humiliated by a little fish, Jeri had already had caught a fish and was basking in her own glory. That only gave me a little frustration and I thrust my arm out at a little fish. Lifting up a little bit, I captured him. I held the poi up closer to get a good look at my catch. "Yes, gotchya, you little monster!" But my victory was short-lived as the goldfish flopped off my poi. I frantically tried to catch him again, and I would've caught him too, if he hadn't ripped a big fat hole in the middle of the plastic and fell through. I glared at him as he swam away. I was pretty sure he was going to go tell his friends how stupid this particular human was.

"Well, that was mean," I scoffed, setting my poi in my bowl and letting it float in the water, and then turning to look at Jeri. "So—" I stopped when I noticed the brown-haired girl was busy giving her bagged goldfish to a little girl who had failed at scooping goldfish several times already. I felt my face curving up into a small smile at the sight, tilting my head slightly to the side, and I crossed my arms. Jeri had to be one of the sweetest people I had ever been acquainted with.

After she had given the fish to the little girl that was now running away squealing against her parents' commands, she turned to me and I proceeded with repeating my unfinished question, "So what's next?" I glanced around the area as I asked this, and there lay on the counter of a nearby booth was a sight that made my eyes widen with anticipation. "Never mind. I figured out something else we can do!"

I sped over there faster than I had ever thought possible with this dumb shoes with Jeri in tow and when I stopped in front of the booth, I bet if this was an anime my eyes would've done that girly glittery thing. "It-it's…watermelon!" I paid the clerk and took the biggest piece that I could see. "My favorite food ever! It's just so…so…" I didn't even bother finishing that sentence; I had already sunk my teeth in the luscious pink fruit. "Oh sweet mama…" It was so succulent that I thought for sure I felt my tongue tingling. Screw the goldfish; this pawned fish any day.

It was gone in a few short moments and as I wiped off my mouth, Jeri paused from whatever she was currently saying and looked out into the distance. She seemed to be listening really hard for something she thought she heard. Her face suddenly lit up and she was beaming brightly. She suddenly exclaimed, "They're starting the Tokyo Ondo! I'm gonna go find Takato and ask him if he wants to dance!" She giggled to herself and took off. I decided it was probably better for me to not get lost and follow her. _Why does she do everything at such a fast pace? And where does she get all her energy from?_

I slowed to a walk after I saw that she had found her target. At first, Takato was fingering the sleeve of his red yukata with a nervous expression on his face, but after a few moments, he put a small smile on, nodded, and they both had entered the ring in sync with the other dancers. Every so often, I'd notice Jeri turn her head around to him behind her and she'd give him a smile. _How can she be so open to her feelings? She doesn't even seem to have a problem with it…_

Averting my gaze down, I looked at the yukata Jeri had picked out for me. The base color was a light teal and was dotted with little morning glory flowers colored in blues and purples. My sash matched, and was pulled back way too tight and tied into a neat bow. Jeri had also felt a compulsive need to do my hair, so she put it up into a messy bow. Some of my hair was naturally a little gravity-defying and there was no changing that, so she just left that as it was and probably will forever remain. Although, I had to admit, she didn't do as horribly as I'd assumed she would've on my appearance.

I glanced over at Takato and Jeri again, thinking about much fun they must be having at that moment. The dance seemed rather simple to master, since it consisted primarily of walking in a circle and doing various hand motions and gestures. Reflecting on it, I felt a little pull in my chest that told me I should be dancing. I wasn't really much of a dancer overall since I had no sense of rhythm, but it seemed that a lot of people decided to join in, and noticing that made me feel awkward and sort of out of place.

Looking around for a potential dance partner, I noticed Henry in his dark blue yukata talking to Rika.

Smiling.

Laughing.

I suddenly felt really angry, like the redhead had betrayed me somehow. I was quickly aware that my fingernails were digging into my palms and my teeth were hurting from being tightly clenched together. There was a stabbing sensation in my chest that made my whole body tense and eliminate any possibility of movement. My eyes were locked into place so I couldn't stop staring at what I was seeing. _What the hell is he doing? And what is _she_ doing? She doesn't even like him!_

"Hey, control that steam coming out of your ears!" I was nearly knocked over by an energetic Salamon hopping onto my shoulder and scaring the crap out of me. As I regained my composure, she looked at my face and while grinning her little puppy grin, she said, "Is eavesdropping on Mr. Sexy making you jealous?" Her tone. Oh, how I hated her tone right at this moment.

My eyes told me he was close, but he felt just so far away from me. That's what my gut told me; he's just too far away. A frown was placed on my face as I moved my eyes away from him and then denied Salamon's teasing words. "I'm not jealous."

She had a quick answer to this. That was only typical. "So you admit that you're eavesdropping on him, then?"

My aggravation was evident in my response, despite how much I tried to conceal it within my own enmity. "I never said that!" I tried to channel my emotions down to my feet so I could talk calmly without anything getting in the way. It didn't work that well as my voice cracked instantly. "I just don't get it…" Out of the corner of my eye, I could see my Digimon waiting for me to continue. "How come guys are just so stupid?"

I took a single glance at Rika, standing straight like she would anywhere else, locked in conversation. She was smiling lightly, and since she wasn't in her normal tomboy attire, rather in a black yukata dotted with golden-colored butterflies and a violet sash to match, she actually seemed like a rather light-hearted girl. Nothing compared to the rough Tamer that she truly was. And now, she…_what is she doing? She's…putting her hair down? What the hell is up with that?_

I could almost see Henry mouth the words, 'You look really good with your hair down', but I was hoping—no, praying—that it was just my imagination. I was praying to every god I could possibly think of that it was all in my head, like some sort of dream or something that I could just wake up and walk away from.

"They're just made like that, Rai." By this time, I had forgotten what I had asked that Salamon was now answering. And now I really didn't care. "Well, I told Terriermon that'd I'd find him a Roman candle, so I'd better get on that! Catchya later, Rai!" And just like that, she hopped off my shoulder and was gone. Some friend.

And I instantly knew why she had left so quickly. "Hey there, Cupcake!" Crap.

I dared turning around to see Kazu approaching in his plain brownish-tan yukata. He was beaming in that way he always did when he had some sort of stupid idea that I wouldn't like. And I was sure I was gonna hear exactly what it was right about— "Hey, Cupcake, do I get the honor of dancing with you?" He inserted a double-eyebrow-wiggle in there as well to complete the invitation.

Even though I was originally gonna dance, I was suddenly not really in the mood anymore at this point. "I think I'll pass." I didn't realize my voice was going to come out that flat until I heard it for myself.

_Oh dear God…__What is with this guy_? He was clearly expecting this sort of answer from me as he retaliated, "What if I was the last man on earth?"

"I'd demand a recount."

* * *

After a while and well after the sun had disappeared below the horizon, making our main source of light the red lanterns strung about, Jeri (she seemed to be the ringleader on this particular occasion) once again somehow managed to gather all of the Tamers into one place and suggested we all go to the riverside where they'd later have a releasing of little lanterns alighted with candles called Toro Nagashi so we could watch fireworks.

Watching fireworks had to be one of my favorite pastimes. As a little girl onwards to now, I had always loved the array of colors bursting in air and the crackle and pops and just everything about them. And even though that was previous sentence was probably the biggest run-on sentence I'd ever seen, it was true. They were just so lively, so free, so beautiful. And the best part was they never got old, there were no two completely alike.

"Hey, guys, check it out!" We all turned to see the Digimon, and Terriermon, who was the one that had just spoken, had a long tube in his hands. I instantly realized that it was a Roman candle. And with that look that that bunny had on his face, we were in for something that could prove potentially painful.

He lit it, proving my theory right as rain almost instantly. Because in moments, we were all scrambling around without any order, trying not to get shot as Terriermon just stood there laughing maniacally at us. That evil little bunny.

"Terriermon, where did you get that?" Henry demanded, narrowly avoiding getting hit by a bright orange exploding shell. Judging by the frown on his face, he clearly wasn't impressed by his mischievous Digimon's devious antics.

"Salamon got it for me!" Came the response, causing all the Tamers to cast their eyes right onto me, most of them looking rather annoyed that it was _my _Digimon. Of course it was. All the others were too good for that. And now Terriermon had a partner in crime. Perfect. I merely facepalmed and shook my head in embarrassment. _Sal, you gotta learn to be good once in a while. For my sake…_

Eventually, just in the peak of Terriermon's enjoyment, his Roman candle died out. His mouth dropped down to a pout and I almost felt sorry for him. Almost. "Aww! It's dead! Can I light another one?" He gave us an expectant smile, begging in his eyes for yet another chance to set us on fire.

"NO!" Was the unified response. At least we all had a common agreement here.

I hadn't noticed until this point the number of people that had begun to gather here on the riverbed. A good majority of them were holding in their arms orange lanterns that had things written on the sides and had a candle inside that was lit. This was the beginning of the Lantern Floating Festival, Toro Nagashi.

The area grew into quietness as they began to walk into the water and wade out a little. Gently, they placed down the lanterns and retreated back to the shore to watch them all float away. The lights on the water mirrored the stars in the sky, millions of candles dotting above and below, honoring the spirits of ancestors past and aiding them on their way to paradise.

On the sides of the lanterns, the families wrote any wishes they had, so that when they were set adrift, they would be granted. It was the way those still living got their hope from their family passed on already.

"Hey, Rai, care to write a wish?" Rika walked over to me with a lantern in her hands, already covered with writing. She was smiling politely at me, her purple irises dancing in the candlelight. "Henry thought it'd be cool if we all wrote wishes on one lantern since we're all one team. So here." She handed to me along with a permanent marker.

_Is that was he was talking to her about earlier? Was he just arranging to get a lantern? That makes me feel like a moron…but it still doesn't explain why he had her put her hair down…_ I smiled back at her in return, feeling bad that I was harboring anger against her now, and then looked down at the lantern. I didn't want to read anyone else's wishes, since my conscience told me that I knew better than that, but I still couldn't help but wonder what my fellow Tamers really desired.

Almost deciding that I needed to squeeze my eyes shut so I wouldn't look at the writings, I quickly scribbled in simple Hiragana and Kanji, '_Watashi wa ai no tame ni shitai…_' And then handed it back to her, asking, "You said Henry came up with this, right?"

The questioning was mostly in her eyes, but she also vocalized with, "Yeah. He suggested it to me a little while ago." The look in her eyes suddenly changed, seemingly like she was trying to pick apart my head and dissect the contents with her mind and willpower solely. "…Why?"

That dreaded W-word. I had to think of something as soon as I could, so I ended up pretending like I hadn't heard her last inquiry. But I was pretty sure she saw through that little attempt at avoiding an awkward conversation quite easily. So I decided to change the subject, instead. "You should wear your hair down more often. It looks nice." _Wow, didn't this sound awfully familiar…_

At the mentioning of her hair, she fingered her bangs before tucking a strand behind her ear. One of those mindless habits. "Oh…thank you." She moved her eyes away from me off to where most of the Tamers were standing, and after a few moments of looking over there, from the candle's light, I could see her face beginning to turn pink. _Now which one of them is she blushing for?_

The silence between us got a little weird, so I then suggested, "I can take the lantern over there if you want." I watched her with curiosity; the way she was just staring off into one direction and not saying anything was very…un-Rika-ish. Wow a new word to add to my little dictionary. "Uh…Rika?"

Her face when she snapped back into reality sorta reminded me of a deer in the headlights. "No, that's fine, Rai. I got it." _This is getting really bizarre, really fast._ She began walking back to the rest of the group and I followed behind, figuring that's where I kinda needed to be at this particular moment in time. There, she handed the lantern Takato—probably because he was apparently designated as "leader"; must be because of the goggles. That was an obvious trend— and he smiled slightly at her before approaching the water.

As he was wading into the water, I thought about what I wrote, questioning to myself if I should've written something else instead. At times like those, my thoughts would always fly and I'd put down something stupid and rash. But I had to deny my doubts as I watched my cousin release the little lantern into the water and I watched it light up the night with all the other little candles. I had written what was on my mind, simple, plain, and with reason.

I wish for love.

* * *

**There! Fin! By the way, the yukata designs of Takato, Henry, and Rika are the same as on a picture of them I found on Google Images. Everyone else's I had to make up, which is what I took my time doing, since it was so fun! **

**And yes, I know that most of the Obon Festivals are held in August, but the one in Tokyo is held in July, which is luckily around the time of year that this fanfiction was going to take place anyway. Yay for coincidental convenience! XD**

**Man, I'm glad this is chapter over though. I had to do research and watch YouTube videos to see how to goldfish spoon, the various Bon Odori dances, along with a heck of a lot of other things. I've come to see that there's very limited information on the Bon Festival, and I actually manage to find is exactly like all the other things I find in all the previous sites I visited. So, in retrospect, there was no completely helpful site, and if I got any of the information wrong, which I assume I probably did, I apologize.**

**Till next time! Ciao! Review and Fav please! :)**


	11. Chapter 10: Make The World Stop Spinning

**YES! I'm alive! *ehem* Well, I guess apologies should be in order, since I haven't updated this fanfiction since June... Yeah... oops. For a while I lost motivation to write in any of my fanfics, and then school started, so I got caught up with homework and cross-country and such. But now, since I'm in my off-season, I suddenly rekindled an ambition to finish this, and hopefully Wherever You Will Go as well. My goal is to be able to work on fanfics during weekends, as I did this weekend (and managed to get 6 or 7 pages written! :D), and still be able to finish chapters at a reasonable pace. **

**So, anyway, this is the chapter where Rai teaches Calumon about dating, learns just how crazy Suzie is (and how many strange demands she makes), and figures out the fastest way to get a migraine? Aside from a faster update, what more could you possibly ask for?**

* * *

Chapter 10: To Make The World Stop Spinning

"_Takato! Takato!" I clutched his short sleeves in my hands, grasping them in my hands till they began to turn a white that matched the hue of my face. I felt the icy cold tears streaming down my boiling hot cheeks, stinging like the venom of a viper, acid eating through my skin. "Please, Takato, please! J-just open your eyes!"_

—_Torment. Torment. Torment.—_

_The world was flying all around me, there was a high-pitched ringing in my ears, yet my eyes were remained at a standstill upon my cousin. His face was twisted into a heart-stabbing expression, exhibiting all the pain that was filling his body. His hair was mangled and blood was flooding from his head down the side of his face. His right arm was bent back into an inhumanly position, the bone piercing through the thin layer of skin covering them. His body was trembling, his breathing shallow. His mouth was slightly agape and crimson oozed from the corners of his lips. _

—_Feel the agony! Bathe in the agony! Drown yourself in the agony!—_

_My chest throbbed and I felt like throwing up. I swallowed the rock stuck in my throat and gasped for breath. "Please…please…Open…open your eyes…" My legs were covered in his blood as I was knelt before him, begging him to just give me one sign of recognition, but that voice in my head screamed I couldn't change a thing even if I wanted to. I was useless…_

—_Search every corner of your being, you will never find the justification you're looking for. You're the one to blame; there's no avoiding it. You humans are all too similar. Selfishness brings the worst out and the ones getting hurt for it are those you love the most…—_

_My whole body was heating up like it was suddenly placed in a furnace, and I was soon crying and screaming till my throat was burning like fire. "You can't be gone! You just can't!" I shrieked, now shaking him violently as if that would drive the life back into him, going into denial of it all mixed with pure rage. The stages of grief. That's what this was. _

—_It's too late now. There's nothing you can do. Everything is out of your hands. But then again, you were rather insignificant from the very beginning. All you can possibly do is take the loss and walk away, like you always do. You always walk away from complications. Now isn't any different…—_

_I suddenly lost the ability to make any sound, all energy drained from me. Blinking the endless tears out of my eyes, my body fell limp and I rested my head against his chest. I could only cry noiselessly and listen. Listen to the silence that took the place of a beating heart…_

My body lurched itself forward into an upward position, suddenly into full alertness and wide awake, my mind reeling. I had to gather my bearings, feel things under my fingertips to take in their reality. They eventually made their way up to my face. The skin directly under my stinging eyes was tender to the touch, and my whole face was wet with my own tears. Straining my fingers through my bangs, I could tell they were intensely mangled. But that was hardly my concern.

I looked at my hands and studied them hard. There was no blood splashed upon them, not that I was expecting there to be, but it just surprised me. The dream just seemed too real. Normally when I dreamt, there was some factor that made it totally fictional, like laws of physics being ignored or something, but this time, there was none.

And that's what scared me. There was full plausibility for it happening the exact same way in reality. I could face the same thing again. Takato could be ripped away from me in a mirroring way. It'd be like losing him again.

"Another nightmare, Rai?" When it came to this sort of thing, Salamon showed a bit of compassion and tried to understand as well as she could. This rare occasion was one of the main things that made me grateful that she was around and is constantly aware of everything that occurs in the household. Nothing goes unnoticed by my partner.

I looked at her with dull eyes, crossing my legs in slow motion. "Yeah. That same one…" I turned and glanced at the clock on the shelf. It was past nine-thirty. Takato would already be at school and in class, so I'd have to wait until after school to see him. "It seems to be getting worse, though..." Groaning, I bent over and picked the blanket up from the floor that I'd kicked off during the night to place it back onto the bed.

Salamon surprised me by jumping up upon my head, leaning her body down so she could look me right in the eyes. I didn't know about her, but I felt she was too close to my face for comfort. She didn't seem too bothered by it, as she gave me a determined face and stated in a confident tone, "Whatever's behind these nightmares, we can take 'em. Digimon and partner, just like in the show! There's nothing that we can't handle!"

I frowned, hardly enlightened by her little pep talk, and took her off from atop my head. I got to my feet and walked out of the room without a sound, leaving her behind to wonder. I needed some time to brood over all of my thoughts, so after quickly changing into jeans and a plain tee, I took the time to just wander around the neighborhood without real purpose.

Things seemed notably quieter now that the day had begun and everyone was where they needed to be. It was sort of strange to feel the peacefulness that I wasn't really used to in the time I was here in Japan. I had to feel a bit unnerved by it; it just didn't seem right to me. But despite that, I had to use the time I now had to walk around mindlessly and think about things that just needed some mental attention.

A main thing to catch my thoughts and grasp them was that nightmare. I couldn't understand it. Night after night, death after death, I just kept on losing hold on the ones that I cared for. It truly scared me, that single question that formed in my head made me become nauseated and light-headed beyond its usual bounds: _Who is next?_

I furrowed my brows as if it would keep my from that thought. But it had already entered. _No. No. No. No…_ I pressed my fingertips hard against my skull and shook my head. The wind whipped my hair all around them as I began to vocalize, "No. No. No…" _I need to know. Why does this keep happening? Why? Why? Why?_

_ —Because it's more fun this way…—_

My body suddenly became ice cold and my nerves split down the middle. I snapped into attention, looking about for anyone standing nearby, for something that could've read my thoughts through the expression on my face. "W-what?" I felt my eyes widen as the realization hit me that I was all alone. It was as if the wind had given the reply. I dared speak back to it for an answer, my alarm evident. "W-who are you?"

Silence.

My chest was tight with a fearful anticipation. I gulped whatever was clogging my throat and repeated again, louder, "Who are you?" In the noiselessness, I added, opening my mouth feeling like trudging up a hill with shoes of lead, "Tell me who you are!"

The cold breeze blew about me, around the curves of my figure, the sound of its hoarse whispering through the trees' long branches the only response I received. I knew for certain that voice wasn't just a figment of my imagination, despite how logical that seemed, given my constantly-increasing insanity. It was too real, too readily prepared for response, too out of my head to possibly be from inside it.

It was the voice that had spoken in my nightmare.

Some of its cold, raspy words echoed from within my memory, as clear and fresh as when I had first heard them, "…_you were rather insignificant from the very beginning. All you can possibly do is take the loss and walk away, like you always do. You always walk away from complications. Now isn't any different…_" My mouth opened into an o-shape as I repeated the words over and over in my mind. _Why does it talk like it knows me? What are its intentions? Why is it trying to mess with me? Does all of this have to do with all of the Digimon's returning? Are they really needed for something, and this is that something?_

My head was spinning with countless questions. I was beginning to confuse myself with all of the thoughts that filled it and made me wonder about everything that had been taking place ever since I had arrived in Japan. I was forced to contemplate the distinct possibility that had arisen that maybe it wasn't just all a coincidence, that this was all part of some distinct plan that some unknown force had concocted from behind the scenes. _But maybe I am thinking about this too hard… I'm making this sound way too much like the show…_

I proceeded, my thoughts still clouding me, to merely wander about Shinjuku vacantly. I had really nothing to do and with Salamon out of the temporary picture, the serenity of this part of Tokyo seemed to show itself a bit more openly, so I decided that hours of my day could be wasted getting some much-needed air. And when three-thirty had rolled around, I came to the decision that I'd meet up with Takato at his school to walk home with him.

I stood by the front gate of the school in waiting to see his figure appear amongst the other students eager to be out of school for not just the week, but also for the school year. It had been the last day. I could hear kids screaming 'T.G.I.F.' as my eyes scanned each of their faces. I felt my insides twist around into knots after time passed and I didn't see him anywhere. Seconds passed, minutes passed, the number of kids leaving the building dwindled down every moment I thought I had spotted him but had to correct myself.

He didn't have any club activities, I knew that for certain, as none of the other Tamers did, either. _So then where is he?_ I fidgeted in my nervousness. Suddenly that dream started to take hold and made me question my reality. _What if—_

"Hey, Rai."

I was caught so off-guard that I almost tripped while standing still. "H-Henry!" I veered my pupils away, feeling flustered to say in the very least. "…Uh, hey." I felt my hands beginning to tremble. _What do I say?_ "Takato!" My lips moved on their own, causing him to look at me in surprise from my sudden outburst. "Takato. Have you seen him?"

The bluenette's face turned into his normal, more composed expression as he gave his response, "No, I haven't. Normally we meet up when leaving our homerooms for the day, but I didn't see him at all after dismissal. Last time I saw him was in the hall during the lunch hour."

I frowned at his words. At least Henry had seen him today, but I still didn't feel that good about not seeing him leave school. "Oh."

It seemed like the silver-eyed Tamer was trying to figure out just what I was thinking about. He gazed at me in suspicion and inquired with his perpetually arousing voice, "You all right, Rai? You look rather unnerved about something."

I cussed at my open-book face for making it so freaking obvious that there was something on my mind and I shook my head, trying to fake a smile, but failing quite miserably. Usually, it would've gone over a bit better, but with him, I knew I was rather pathetic at any attempt I desired to make. "No, I'm okay. I just wasted a walk over here, that's all." It pleased me a little that my excuse actually made sense this time.

He didn't really seem to accept my reasoning, but nonetheless, smiled ever-so enchantingly as he offered, "Well, if you want company, I can walk home with you. That way you wouldn't have wasted a trip."

My heart stopped beating and I was on the edge of fainting right then and there. My mind was screaming 'Oh my God, yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!' I could've sworn that this boy was an angel sent by God Himself, and I honestly wanted nothing more than to walk on and on into forever with him, saying I still wasn't home yet, just to make the time last for eternity. But I didn't say any of this—I didn't dare say any of these things out loud—so instead, I gave a simple, how-the-frickin'-hell-am-I-so-composed-so-suddenly toned, "Sure."

At first, I'll admit, it was sorta awkward. I'd look at him, he'd noticed me looking, I'd thrust my head away so hard it cracked and hurt like heck, he'd give me a weird expression for it, and then it'd all repeat. It was a poor excuse for a cycle, it pained me a bit, but somehow I managed to enjoy myself up until the point we began to talk.

And I was kind of to blame for this conversation. "So, Henry, do you think your friends are weird?" Random, I know. But it fell out, knowing that he was pretty much the most level-headed out of anyone I had met in Japan so far, so the question just formed itself over time.

He seemed taken aback by this question, since it had been what broke the awkward silence between us and really wasn't the most normal of inquiries. "Uh, well…I can safely say that some of them have their…quirks." He probably made a good decision with using the word 'quirks', otherwise if any of them found out that he used any other word, he might have had some angry Tamers to deal with.

Now I felt strange for asking such an unusual question, as I suddenly made it person. I really shouldn't have; I was feeling really, really stupid at this particular moment. "Am I in this list of quirky people?"

He paused as if to give me a chance to suddenly correct myself and tell him not to answer, but against my better judgment, I stayed quiet and he replied, "…Under circumstance."

Like a flash of light, Kazu suddenly jumped out of a conveniently-located bush and with a "fierce war cry", knocked Henry and himself onto the ground with a full-body tackle. He then leapt to his feet proudly, taking up a superhero pose with his legs spread apart and his fists clenched and resting on his hips. "My dear Cupcake! I have just saved you from verbal offense! Now if I may escort you away—"I stopped him abruptly with a kick to the place where the sun doesn't shine. "Oh God, my PokeBalls!" And he keeled over.

Daggers jabbed him from my eyes. "PokeBalls?" He tried to ride it off and stand back up. This proved just how stupid he could really be. "This isn't Pokemon! This. Is. Digimon!" Another kick sent him down. And I wouldn't have been surprised if he'd never get up again. "Traitor!"

I whipped my head around as Henry was getting back up. I let out a final little 'hmph', because I really wasn't in the mood for Kazu's stalkeriness, and said, "Let's go, Henry."

I was pretty sure I scared that poor boy. Because he was on his feet and at my side in a second. It actually rather surprised me that he hadn't given a weak little 'Yes, ma'am' along with it. Not that I wanted that, it was just that he looked pretty disturbed by how I reacted to Kazu mauling him down like a high-speed bullet train.

And honestly, I disturbed myself a little too.

Leaving Kazu and that moment he had created behind us, we again sunk into another few minutes of an awkward silence. My last attempt at conversation had ended rather badly, so I was hoping that he'd be the one to start something this time. After all, I wasn't sure how fast of a recovery time Kazu had. But that should keep even _him_ down for a while.

Still a few blocks from Takato's house, nothing had been said. I glanced over at Henry and in reaction, bit my lip. The wind was tousling his hair gently in a serene, rhythmic manner. The movement was almost hypnotizing; I could've watched it for longer than time could comprehend.

And I probably would've, had he not have turned and seen me staring so intently. And if he hadn't questioned an innocent, "What?", I probably wouldn't have struggled with all my words and made myself sound like ten kinds of a moron.

"Eh, uh…you know, uh, nothing." I suddenly recalled some of Mrs. Wong's words from when I visited their apartment for the first time, 'he knows he's good-looking', and wondered if that was really true. If it was true, he probably wouldn't have asked 'what?' Or most likely, he was too down-to-earth to realize he was as good-looking as his mom had said. I figured that was probably the case. "So, uh, Henry. I don't mean to butt into your business or anything, but what were you talking to Rika about at the Bon Festival when everyone was dancing?" I narrowed my eyes. _God, I'm going back to a jealous moment I'd rather forget. Why? Just why?_

He began to lightly smirk. "I was just giving her my opinion on something."

I blinked a few times, my returned jealousy momentarily fading for a chance to actually ask a level-headed-sounding question without completely losing my temper. And I was glad that it worked, that I didn't totally give anyway by my tone. "Whatdya mean by that?"

"She asked me if she gets noticed more with her hair up or down. She's—" He paused to look for the proper words, but I was already getting the picture. "—trying to…uh…"

Putting on a small smile as we got onto the block of which I was living, I fingered my opposite palm anxiously. "I get it. She wants selected attention." _I can relate_, I added mentally, my gaze dropping down to the sidewalk before us and then proceeding to move all around. "I think that's really sweet." My eyes set upon the blue sky and my smile grew wider as the breeze caressed my face.

"You…like that kind of thing?" He was the one asking questions this time, and it found it a little strange he was getting kind of into my person now. _Does that mean he really wants to know things about me? No, probably just making conversation…_

I felt my cheeks grow red. "I'm a…bit of a romantic, I guess. I'm not love-obsessed but I feel that feelings should be expressed for the most part." _Ha, I should practice what I preach. Man, I'm making myself feel like such a helpless coward._

He pursed his lips and seemed to think about my response for a moment as we grew increasingly closer the door where I'd make my departure. "So do you believe in full honesty, even in moments of self-doubt?" he questioned after a long pause.

"I believe…" I stopped at the doorstep and turned back towards him, my hand grasping the knob. My voice was unusually low-key and unhurried. "…one should be open. If they feel something, then…" I involuntarily wet my lip with my tongue in a strangely slow motion, my gaze not leaving his metallic eyes. "…go for it."

My heart was pounding and the whole world was spinning around and around. Gentle melodies swirled in my head like in the movies and I felt my whole body heat up. It was a comforting warmth, like the kind of warmth that exuded from his bright eyes that seemed to make all around us fade away. I heard my breath escaping fast.

I pressed my back against the door, my muscles tightening and growing rigid, but yet at the same time, feeling loose and free. He closed the gap between us without my notice, leaving only mere inches from his chest to mine, and I tipped my face upward automatically to see his. I began to lift my arms up, as if my fingertips guided the rest of my body's motion. Time was flowing at half-pace, but the music in my ears moved at double, violin matching chords of my heart that was like a drum beating out and keeping time…

_Bud-da-da…bud-da-da…bud-da-da…_

THUD!

Suddenly I found myself on the ground, half in the house, half not, staring up at a confused Takato that decided now was a great time to realize that we were standing outside and open the door to see what was going on. Two things I knew for certain: He had perfect timing for things like these, and I had skill for deciding when it's proper to lean against a door.

"Uh, what are you doing?" he questioned, primarily to me as I merely laid there glaring daggers at him, hoping he'd somehow spontaneously combust if I leered hard enough. But so far, it wasn't really working that well.

My eyes narrowed. "Trying to kill you with my gaze. What's it look like?" I scoffed flatly, crossing my arms. If I wasn't feeling so at loss of energy, I probably would've tried to kill him physically. But I was lacking all of that motivation. All I could feel apt to do was get gradually back to my feet.

"Rai was waiting for you at the school gate, but you never showed, so I offered to walk back with her." At least Henry sounded composed with his response. Although, seeing his face, he seemed rather unfazed by the whole thing, like it was simply just as he had said. Two friends walking from school. That was it. _Was that near-experience invisible to him? Was he somewhere else through that whole thing? Did I imagine how close he was, how the silence was so breath-taking, how the world was spinning off-axis?_

Takato's face made me think that he didn't really see Henry's response correctly, either. He gave a plain, "Oh," and nothing more than that.

Henry gave a regular smile. "Well, I better get home. See you guys, later." He turned and began back down the walk after a short good-bye from Takato, leaving my eyes strictly following. I knew there was just something up with that guy, and the part that bothered me the most was that I couldn't figure it out what it was.

When he was out of sight, I shook my head and followed Takato into the house. I noiselessly closed the door behind me with both hands, running my fingers against the wood. _Man, what was that? That couldn't have all been in my head, could it? I _have_ been kind of out of it all day…_"Hey, uh, Takato?" Everything came back to me in a suddenly flash, panging me in the chest like a pan crashing to the floor with a hard clang. "Why didn't I see you coming out of school?"

My cousin glanced at me for a second before flopping down on the couch to watch the already-on TV. That, I figured, was probably what he had been doing for a while now, noting the bag of open chips right next to his designated spot, crumbs dotting the cushion. His response came easily, "Oh, Miss Asaji sent me home, telling me to think about what I did. But I forgot what I did, so now I'm watching TV."

I felt my eyes narrow automatically. "Figures." But I had to find a little bit of relief in his typical response. He was here, he was himself, no harm done. My original expression faded, replaced by a slight smile as I began to head for the next room. My heart had finally slowed and I regained the majority of my self-control. "I'm just glad you're all right."

This statement caught him off-guard after a few seconds for it to set it took place and then he did a little double-take. "Wait, what do you mean—?"

Before he could finish his questioning, I had snatched up my sketchbook and had the door slamming behind me. Again I really had no destination, as my mind was clouded with self-appointed more important things.

_Was that all really just my imagination, an illusion formed in my head caused by all of the stalkerish—no, I'm not a stalker. Boarder-challenged, maybe, but I am _not_ a stalker—fantasies that all just ever-so uncontrollably enter my stupid, perverted brain?_ As I began down the walk, my feet slid across the concrete sluggishly, like cement blocks had fastened themselves to the soles of my tennis shoes.

"God, I'm so stupid!" I scolded myself, making the attempt to kick a stray pebble with the toe of my shoe, but missing and instead striking a steel pole more than conveniently-placed. I yelped out like a cat with its paw stuck in a mousetrap and for a second thought that I had broken my big toe.

_I just proved my own point. Stupidity seems to enjoy my company today. Well, I don't enjoy its._ I moaned in my discomfort and annoyance, and with a little less than no enthusiasm, walked until I had reached Shinjuku Park and sat down on the old stone steps.

Setting my sketchbook down on the step next to me, I pressed my face on my knees and sat there letting out a muffled, frustrated scream, as one would release into a pillow. But, I realized, I didn't lose my breath as quickly this way and I could go for much, much longer. And as it turned out, much, much louder.

"Hey-yoo!"

I stopped abruptly at another voice and looked up. I frowned and gave my response, "What are you doing here, you crazy fruitcake? I don't have anything to eat, if that's what you're looking for." My eyes narrowed, trying to figure out just why he, of all the places he could possibly be, was here.

"I can go wherever I want!" He beamed, his green eyes sparkling like great big emeralds, "This 'lil 'mon has no rules like you wacky humans do! You should try to be like me! Hit the town, Calumon-style!" At this remark, he did the jazz hands.

To say it bluntly, I was unimpressed. I held myself back from rolling my eyes from his statement, figuring "Calumon-style" wasn't one I would enjoy. "Sure…I'll be sure to…try it sometime." I scratched my eyebrow mindlessly, trying to pick apart his head with my gaze, seeing if I could put anything from within his skull together to make at least a little sense. Suddenly something came to me. "Hey, why are you here anyway? Like, in the human world? You don't have a Tamer or anything."

He brushed the question off like it was no big deal, plopping his bottom down on a step. "Oh, I don't know. But I do know that I'm super special awesome!" _Way to quote Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged successfully. But don't start making claims that you're the main character; otherwise, Sal would have to have a word with you._ He then questioned, surprising me, "Why are _you_ here? Did you get kicked out of your town?"

_Yeah, they kicked me outta France. _"I'm just here to visit my family here in Japan and to get away from it all. Here I can just get some R&R and forget about everything." My words probably could've been picked a little better.

The reason being, he cocked his head slightly off to one side and frowned a little with his eyes wide. "Why? Aren't you happy?" His little body arranged in the manner it was, he made me think of a little stuffed animal.

Blinking in my confusion a few times, I retaliated with an unsure, "Yeah…Why would you ask that? Do you think I'm _not_?"

I didn't understand why now was the time he decided he wanted to be smart. It was too in the moment for logic like the time he had. "You wished for love. You gotta have a reason for that."

_Wait, hold your tacos. How the heck did he even notice that? _A little bit of nervousness crept up my throat and I almost choked on it like my own spit. "Well, that's 'cause… uh…you know…" I snatched up my sketchbook, opened to a new page, and began to draw, just to look away and remove the tension of the question without awkwardness.

He rose back up onto his tiny feet and put a finger to his cheek in inquiry. "All I know is humans make other humans act sort of funny and do silly stuff. I don't really get it, but you humans do a lot of stuff I don't get." _Wow, talk about reiterating how much you don't understand. _"Like this one time, I saw these two people try to swallow each other!" He proceeded to make his mouth in a circular shape, smooching out his lips over-drastically.

I could only stare at his attempted imitation. "…You're a strange 'lil fella. I'm pretty sure they were just kissing." When I paused, I noticed that he was only looking at me like I was speaking a totally different language. "It's a way humans show affection to one another. Nowadays, a guy and a girl who are dating kiss to show what they mean to each other."

His ears expanded as an excited smile stretched towards them. "Are dates involved with dating? Dates are yummy!" _As always, he finds some dumb way to relate everything to his next meal. Although last time I checked, raw dates aren't the best food._

And now was when I had to start giving him the talk about relationships. Beautiful. "No, uh… dating is… the courtship between the couple where they go out and spend time together. In most cases, the guy tries to get to know the girl for a little bit and then he asks her out, but it can work with the girl asking the guy as well." _Why? Why am I explaining this?_

His next question came like a reflex. "So does that mean you're dating Kazu?"

And so did my response and as-a-matter-of-factly as it could possibly get. "No, that's called stalking, and that's a conversation for another time."

"Then who are you dating?" His face looked like that of an innocent little child, and so did his tone. One wouldn't suspect such evil to come from such a little, harmless-appearing Digimon. "Are you dating Henry?"

My face turned aglow in a bright red luminescence and I scrambled to seem distracted by my drawing to be taken too unnaturally surprised by the inquiry. The thought haunted me. _What did we have? Am I just imagining mutual fondness between us? It must be all in my head, he doesn't even seem _remotely_ interested, now that I think about it…_ "What? No! I wouldn't dream of it!" _If I could have the option not to_, I added silently.

His tone didn't change. It didn't accuse. It was all just too naïve-sounding to even appear like he understood half of what he was asking. "Then why do you draw him?" Yeah. He obviously didn't understand _easily _half of it.

Staring—no, more like ogling in what felt like horror—down at my sketchbook on my lap, upon my hand which was still in place where the line had momentarily ceased, and on that open page. It's not like I didn't realize my subject of art, it's just that whenever I tried to draw anything else, it just sort of _changed_. From the start to the finish, it'd always manage to morph itself into an entirely different piece than what I had intended. This led to so many drawings just taking up all the pages, sitting there waiting to be tossed into the garbage, yet still watching me with a gaze that somehow brought out my conscience and made me think I'd bet doing some big sin against God if I disposed them.

_He's got the persistence of a little kid…_ I narrowed my eyes and tried to think of a good way to say what would possibly answer his question. "Well, that's be-because he, uh, never asked me out, so I'm…uh…resorting to a-a-a…secret kind of affection."

Somehow, he didn't miss a beat. "You said a girl could ask a boy out. Why don't you do that?" And that showed just how much he understood my cowardice that outmatched the cowardice of a million cowards. Wow, redundant much?

…_But the perception of a detective…_ "Because…I don't want to." I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling rather defiant of my little retort.

Through it all he didn't lose that childlike tone that just wanted to know, not anything remotely doing with mockery; just pure curiosity. "Why? Are you scared of what he'll say?" He stopped to see my answer, but when I only stared at him, he smiled in that immature sort of way. "You're so silly! This is just like jumping into a pool of chocolate pudding. At first, you don't want to because you'll get all dirty, but once you're in, you get pudding!"

I felt my jaw literally drop at his comparison. "That's actually really insightful, Calumon. So you're saying that taking a risk has its cons, but after you take it, you see all of the pros and realize it was all worth it?"

He was the one to look confused now. "I don't know what you mean by any of that stuff; I was just trying to change the subject because you're boring me."

My entire buildup of enthusiasm deflated at that moment. _Wow, the second I thought he was getting smarter, I just proved to myself I am getting dumber. _"Oh."

Once he was started about food, it seemed to be hard to stop him. "And now talking about pudding made my tummy want snackie snacks! I'm gonna go find Jeri, 'cause you're too poor to buy anything—" _I'm not skinny because I'm poor. It's called athleticism, and I think you could learn the meaning of it. _"—Tell Salamon I'm brining creampuffs!"

He was gone in a flash, leaving me sort of confused what the point of that whole conversation was. _Wait. Creampuffs?_ I found myself scowling and groaning for a not-so hidden reason._ Sal…_

* * *

When I had gotten back to the house, I instantly found the Digimon lingering in my mind scavenging in the cabinets just above the counter, digging around for the yummy-nummies that were shoved in the back so the curious eyes wouldn't stumble across them so quickly. She already had a fair-sized stack of boxes and packages of assorted treats on the counter and was by the minute, adding several to the pile.

I crossed my arms and looked at her rear end, the only part of her visible from my angle, starting my interrogation, "Sal, I was talking to Calumon earlier and he said some really interesting things. One of these things happened to be to tell you he was bringing creampuffs. Does that—" I was cut off.

She hopped down from the cabinet to the counter, narrowly avoiding the food she put there beforehand. Looking rather excited, she exclaimed, "Yes! That'll be perfect for tonight!" I stared at her, making her continue with my gaze. "I'm havin' a little shindig with my Digimon peeps tonight, so I told everyone to bring food! I was short of desserts, so now we'll have some creampuffs!"

I glared hard, preparing for the answer to my next question. "And where exactly is this 'shindig' gonna be?"

"Right here!" She gave me that puppy grin she was just so good at executing.

My hand automatically came up and palmed my face. "Ugh, Sal, you should've asked for permission first! Don't you think Uncle Takehiro and Aunt Mie would have a problem with holding a party without their consent?" I gave her a 'Duh!' kind of face, shaking my head. Even I didn't understand why I hadn't given up on her yet.

"Nope! Takehiro is cool; he'll understand!"

_Wow. Way to assume. When all this is over, I'm sure I'm gonna be the one hearing about it from Aunt Mei. _I looked over to the other side of the kitchen, seeing Guilmon sitting there, watching with a worried look on his dinosaur face. _Even Guilmon's predicted the outcome of this… The apocalypse is soon to arrive, I know it…_ "Whatever, Salamon, as long as you don't blame me. And as long as you don't make it a drinking party."

Salamon waved her paw, making a 'pssht' noise with her lips. "No prob, Rai, nothing bad's gonna happen. I'm not an alcoholic!" She used that claim as her whole consolation, and it really didn't work. Sure, I'd never seen her drink, but I never ruled the possibility out.

Takato peeked into the doorway, a phone stuck on the side of his face. But he wasn't talking to the person on the line; it was to me. "Hey, Rai. Henry invited me over to watch a late night movie. He said you could come if you wanted."

A little alarm went off in my head and I felt my ears heating up a bright red. Luckily my composure retained and I was able to calmly ask, "What's the movie?"

He shrugged in response, giving me a look like I was stupid. "I don't know. I think it's something about this one dude that does something."

"Yeah, that narrows it down." I gave him an annoyed expression, my mouth a thin, flat line; he was getting pretty decent with stating the completely obvious. "But, sure, whatever. I'm in." In my head, I was having a party of my own. _Omigosh, omigosh! Henry's house! Yay! Yay! Yay! Yaay! ... …Woah. That was kinda scary. Fangirlism is kinda starting to take root…_

He chuckled to himself at my response. "Figured." _Figured what, dorkus? Figured out how to get my fist in your face?_ He directed his next statement to the person on the phone, who I now figured to be Henry, as he went back to the other room. "Yeah, told ya. She's coming." _…Jerk._

After this all went down, I turned back to Salamon, who had since went back to scavenging, whistling a little tune of which had an all too-familiar melody that had a title of Dirty Little Secret. Obsession had no bounds with this little Edward-Cullen-addicted-maniac. "Okay, since I'm not gonna be back 'til late tonight, I wanna see some self-control on your part, Sal. No alcohol, no drugs, no dirty dancing, no illegal immigrants, and _especially_ no disturbing Aunt Mie." I waited for her to turn and look at me directly, tapping my foot anxiously. "Do you promise?"

"Is grinding considered a dirty dance? How about the dougie?" I stared at her and my partner gave me a skeptical look in response. "What, do you expect me to be able to predict the future? You have nothing to worry about, Rai, I got all of this covered!"

I sighed. "Yeah, and the fact that you _know_ you're in charge is what makes me scared." I turned to Guilmon and said, "Just make sure nothing illegal gets in here. Please be the responsible one here, Guilmon, since I know that Sal won't."

With his awesome voice, he gave a stern nod and said, "Ay-ay!" _Someone likes to talk like a pirate…_

"All right." I really didn't think Guilmon knew how to tell if something was illegal or not, like if Terriermon got a connection to weed, he'd think it was grass or something, but I had to hope the house was gonna be left standing at the end of it all, since that was the only thing I could think of that just might survive. Aunt Mie's patience? Yeah, that was as good as gone. "Now, I'm gonna get ready to go to Henry's. Make sure—"

Salamon cut me off with a snide smirk and matching tone. "Ooh, you gonna go pretty yourself up for the sexy bluenette? Hoping he'll finally notice? Wishing he'll be the father of all of your beautiful children? Think he's annoyed with those girly eyes you make at him when you think he's not looking but really he can see you in his peripheral vision? Is your imagination getting the best of you, making you think that you're meant to be? Are you—?"

I was the one to interrupt this time, daggers jabbing at her. "Salamon. Shut. Up." And with that, I made my exit.

* * *

"Shiwai! Shiwai! Shiwai!" As soon as the door of the Wong's apartment swung open, I was greeted over-enthusiastically by the youngest of the family hugging my legs while still managing to jump up and down. She was a talented little person up until she noticed Takato standing next to me, making her stop, stare at him with her face scrunched up, and go with a little irritation, "Angwy Kid!"

My cousin didn't miss a single beat. He was ready for her this time. With a tone of voice that matched Suzie's in exact mood, he stared hard at her with his wine-colored eyes narrowed and responded, "Whiney Girl!"

She was taken aback by this, causing her to turn her head away from him defiantly. "Hmph! No, I am _nawt_ whiney!" she protested. "Being angwy must be scwewing up yawr bwain!"

At this one, I had to laugh, even though still in the back of my mind, I was still unnerved as to what Salamon was going to do while we were here. Trying to imagine didn't really help cease this anxiety. _Who am I kidding? We'll be lucky if there's a house to return to when that party's done…_ I felt my eyebrow twitch at the thought. "Hey, are we just gonna stand out in the hallway all night and watch the movie from out here?"

Suzie instantly perked up and grabbed my hand to lead me in. "Hendwy, Shiwai and Angwy Kid are hewr! Hendwy! Hendwy! Hendwy!"

Instead of Henry walking in like I expected, it was Jaarin, who was smiling brightly at us (and when I say us, I really mean Takato and only Takato). "Hey, Rai." She made eyes and her tone turned deeper. "_Hey_,_ Takato_."

_Wow, he really has his hands full with girl problems. He must really be a ladies' man or something._

"Hi….Jaarin." And again, like the first time I came here, my cousin did that little pause before her name to give me the notion that he had momentarily forgotten it. And this time, there turned out to be a pause after it too. "So…uh, where's Henry?" At least he didn't forget his best friend's name too.

The purple-haired girl waved her fingers daintily, like he should just forget he even asked that._ What. A. Girl._ "Oh, don't worry, he'll be right out." _That really doesn't answer the question, I really hope you know. And I'm not worrying….Wait, should I be worried?_

Takato really didn't seem to know how to respond. "Oh. Well. Uh…" I watched his eyes shuffle in every direction. "Okay, so…I'm gonna go see if Rika—" At the name of the redhead, Jaarin's face turned to a deathglare. "—wants to watch the movie too…so…" He darted out of the room.

Apparently Jaarin was a very determined girl so she followed him, calling to him, "Takato, our phone is very hard to use! Let me help you!" And so left me and Suzie alone. But Suzie was set on keeping me entertained. _What a strange family…_

"Shiwai! Wook at me! Wook at what I can do!" It took her a few attempts, but shakily, she managed to stand on her head. "Ta-daa!" I had to admit to myself, I couldn't do that even if I practiced. My center of balance was worse than Takato's, and that was really saying something.

"Hey, Rai." I turned to see the sexy bluenette himself walking into the room. My eyes locked onto his hair. It looked so shiney and his bangs were arranged messily on his forehead. I knew what this was. Henry with the wet look. _Oh. My. Pretty boy. _

I wiped my mouth, just in case there was drool collected there. He was wearing a black tee, which complimented his hair perfectly and brought out his pretty, pretty, pretty eyes. I couldn't what I was supposed to say in response. "Uh uh uh…. ¡Hola!" _Wow, way to speak Spanish successfully…And way to get a weird look from him in return. …But dang does he look good when he looks at me like I'm absolutely crazy…_

"Hendwy!" Suzie piped up frantically, still standing on her head, "The eawth is moving too qwickwy! Make it swow down! Pwease, Hendwy, I'm so dizzy!" _Yeah, that's not weird._

In response to the request, her older brother narrowed his eyes and said in a flat voice, "Do I have to do The Look?" _The what?_

Suzie gave him her 'no duh' voice. "Silly Hendwy, The Wook is the most impowtant pawt! Do it, Hendwy, do it!" This, I immediately knew, I had to see. It sounded so stupid that it just might amuse me and totally make my night.

He groaned in annoyance, and I learned what The Look really was. He squeezed his eyes shut really tight and scrunched up his face, holding his breath and growing completely silent during this whole thing. And also during this whole thing, I was watching him with my eyes like discuses used in Track and Field.

He then suddenly gasped for breath and looked at Suzie. "Is that better?"

To say she sounded annoyed was an understatement; I thought she was gonna pop with irritation. Or at least lose her balance and topple over. "NO! It didn't do anyting! Shiwai, hewp Hendwy swow the eawth down!"

This caught me majorly off-guard, but still emotion still failed to be in my voice. "…What?" I glanced at Henry, who merely shrugged at me, and at that point, even though I could protest, it wouldn't work against his stubborn little sister. "…Fine."

It must've been strange to see a little girl standing on her head with a sour expression and two teenagers looking like they both ate one too many lemons. It kinda hurt to hold that face for a period of time, so I was working against pain itself to satisfy a little kid with the imagination of the most colorful story book in the library.

And apparently as all of this was going on, Takato had decided to enter. "Rika said she can't—" He stopped abruptly, which was probably the exact moment when he set eyes on us. "Uh…guys…What are you doing?"

His voice was like an At Ease command, because at that instant, breath and color of the face were strived for. Henry then gasped, "There! Now is that better, Suzie?" _Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes…_

She allowed herself to topple over and sitting on her bottom while looking at us, she grinned innocently. "Yes, Hendwy. Tank you, Shiwai! You did bettewr than Hendwy the fiwrst time! He gave himself a migwaine!"

I rubbed my head, looking at Henry from out of the corner of my eye and seeing he had his face in his hand. "Did he now?"

* * *

"Hey, Tomato, you were right. This dude _does_ do something: Absolutely nothing," I grumbled in annoyance. In my mind, I didn't even care about how dull the movie was. I was too concerned about our current seating arrangement to even care. Somehow, by a chance that I had no hand in, I was stuck in the middle of the couch, Henry to my left, Takato to my right. The instant I realized just how close I was to the boy on my left, I had a little panic attack, _Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap! How the heck did this manage to work out?_

So, I had tried to fidget my way closer to Takato, because I was pretty sure I wouldn't survive the constant rising of my internal temperature if the distance—or the lack of distance—between Henry and I remained the whole night. But he had dang good eyes. Not only were they nicely-hued, they also could pick up movement like a hawk. I received a few good looks of confusion from him and I only could cheesily grin back at him in attempt to get past the awkwardness of trying to explain just what my situation was.

"Hey, don't blame me. I didn't make the movie," Takato retorted, oblivious to my mission of scooting gradually closer to him. "And as a matter of fact, this is a great masterpiece of a movie. I have a ton of people ready to back me up on that."

Ignoring his response, I came to realize that with the combination of a boring movie and my personal distraction, the wearing of sleep deprivation was starting to kind of take hold. I always was one of those people that would fall asleep during movies, and so, with the line, "Ugh, I gotta go. Grandma fell asleep on TK again," as the last recollection (ironic, no?), I was caught dozing more and more and more…

* * *

**I'm sorry this chapter skips around so much; blame my chapter outline telling me to do it. And as for the end movie quote, it's from Digimon The Movie. Haven't seen it? You haven't lived. Go watch it now... well, after you decided if you wanna review or not (which would mean a lot to me! Pwease?). **

**Till next time! Love ya all!**


	12. Chapter 11: Dirty Little Secret

**Wow, I don't believe how much I actually worked on this to get this chapter to a satisfying measure. It's 1am right now and I just finished this chapter after working on it all day, and for several hours every day this week and the previous week. There was a lot of research involved, as lots of places are mentioned in this one, and I actually go into more detail than I ever thought I would. Actual store names, the names of products they sell IN the stores, the PRICES of the products in yen... yeah, it was a crazy chapter, but I had a ton of fun writing it. **

**I was actually literally crying when writing the end of this chapter, since I had the part in my head even before I started writing this fanfiction, and I got a little emotional because I finally got to put it in (and plus I actually stuck to my outline, which was a miracle in itself). I love how the chapter turned out; I love it more than the majority of any chapter I've ever written in pretty much anything.**

**Anyway, I'm sorry this one jumps around so much, most likely it'll be the last hoppy-skippy one in this fic. I'm actually almost done with the fanfiction, as I was planning about eighteen to twenty chapters, and I pretty much have a good majority planned out. So hopefully this fic will become my top priority so that I can get it done and out of the way. **

**On another note, inspiration for this chapter came from the songs I Like You, I Love you by Kagamine Rin (a Vocaloids song. soo kawaii~!), Trying Not To Love You by Nickelback (I murdered the replay button, listening to it over fifty times today alone), and the song that was this fic's inspiration If You Only Knew by Shinedown. **

**Also, I made a rather bland sketch of the clothes Henry and Rai wear in this chapter, a link to a sketch of them will be on my profile, just for a mental image (even though I screwed over Henry so he kinda doesn't look like...him).**

**I hope you guys enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! R&R, my loves~!**

* * *

Chapter 11: Dirty Little Secret

"_Wait! Takato, please, stop!" I stumbled repeatedly over my own feet, striving to catch up with him running not even a block ahead. If only he would stop, if only he would even think about what he was doing, if he took time. "Just think! Just think, Takato!"_

_My legs ached and begged for rest. I refused to stop; if anything, I was gaining ground. Just a little farther and I'd be right there. Maybe I could get him to just think about how rash he was being and how easily he could settle this. "Let it all sink in before you do anything! Time heals all wounds, Takato! If you don't stop, you could ruin something instead of fixing it! Takato!"_

—_Haha, watch this…—_

_I heard a car horn blaring, the screech of its brakes. I heard a voice that wasn't my own scream out Takato's name; I couldn't say a word. My cousin's feet froze in their place. I thrust my head hard away, cringed with tears pleading for their sweet release, but I could still hear that heart-wrenching sound that made me want to vomit._

_That stomach-twisting sound of bones shattering. _

_My throat was dry like sandpaper and the only thing I could do is gaze wide-eyed silently. I was in motion, the tears heeding my vision, but I wasn't in control of myself. My legs carried me without my command, and in what felt like a second, I was on the ground, pounding my fists on the ground till I couldn't tell the difference between the physical pain and the pain that was wrenching on my heart. I screeched his name over and over, as if it would somehow change anything. _

—_It hurts, doesn't it?—_

"_Please, Takato, please! J-just open your eyes!" I choked on the air that got caught in my throat and I began to swear at the world, trying to scream, but all the airways inside me not letting me get out but scratchy cusses. My head began to throb like it was being beaten over and over. I could barely hear my own voice over the sound of its pounding. "Please…please…Open….open your eyes…"_

_I began to hyperventilate. _

—_Finally realizing he's gone, little girl?—_

_My brain felt like it was rotating behind my eyes, colors wouldn't stop spinning as I suddenly screamed, my lips moving without my consent, "You can't be gone! You just can't!" I grasped his shoulders and lost all control, thrusting his upper-body to and fro with my arms, my fingers digging into his skin. "Takato! Takato! Takato!"_

—_That's what you get when you let your heart win…—_

_I collapsed onto his chest, tears soaking his shirt. I felt how warm he was, he felt so alive, yet the reality was so different. I wished the heartbeat I heard in my ears wasn't my own, that it was his, that this happening wasn't taking place. I wanted my tears to be enough to bring him back; I wasn't ready for him to go, he just couldn't have left me now._

_Suddenly I was aware of warm hands placed upon my shoulders; they traced along my back in a soothing manner, and before more thoughts could come, I was pulled into a sitting position and my body moved to embrace the figure around the waist, burying my face into the fabric that covered a sturdy, reassuring chest. _

"_He's gone, he's gone, he's gone…"_

I slowly opened my eyes, feeling the burning like fresh-cut onions that came hand-in-hand with hard, uncontrolled tears. I curled my fingers into a fist, reality hitting me with the magnitude of a hangover. _W-wait, I don't remember going home last night…And that must mean that…uh-oh…_ I yelped. My head shot up and the rest of my body following suit right off the couch. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Words flew out of my mouth a mile a minute, my face turning beat red. "I have no idea what happened, Henry, honest! You coulda woke me up or pushed me away or _something_!"

He eyed me in slight amusement of my overreaction and shrugged. "Believe me, we tried," he responded, moving the arm I had apparently clamped to the whole night, and I heard a series of cracking noises come from it as he flexed it a few times.

_We?_ My breath got caught in my throat and I jumped to my feet, my eyes flying around in every direction possible. "Where's Takato?" Panic reverberated through all my nerves, up and down my body like a closed circuit. It was like before; it had set me off into a state of complete alarm that put all my senses into hyper-drive.

The urgency in my voice seemed to surprise him and click a little sense of recognition to the day before, but his tone remained nonchalant and level-headed as it usually was. "He went home last night after the movie." He paused to study the distressed look on my face, frowning in dismay. "Why? What did you dream of?"

I wondered how he knew it was because of my nightmare that I was so freaked out and was about to ask him when I saw a giant wet stain on his shirt. _Wow, I'm not looking so good right now…_ I bit my lip and avoided his gaze. _He'll probably laugh at me if I told him what I keep getting so worked up over, so there's really no point in telling him this. It's all so ridiculous…_ I turned to watch him out of the corner of my eye and saw him giving me an innocently-confused expression. _Oh, but he looks so cute when he looks at me like that. Actually, he looks cute no matter how he looks at me…I wonder if he's aware of that—No! Stay on track, Rai!_

I scrambled to gather up what little sanity that remained in me as I answered absentmindedly, "N-nothing, Henry…nothing…" I looked towards the door, figuring I had overstayed my welcome with accidentally falling asleep with my head kind of on the poor Wong boy's lap, grasping his arm for dear life, and soaking his shirt. "Well, I should probably go. I'm sorry for everything…" I headed for the exit, trying not to make eye contact otherwise my addiction to him and his himness (new word, FTW!) might force me to stay.

Just reaching the door, my hand on the knob, I had involuntarily turned back towards him. He was up on his feet and saying, "Hey, wait a sec." He walked over; he had that pleasantly cute smile on his face that made me almost melt to the ground. "I was wondering if you wanted to spend the day with me."

My face turned inevitably crimson. _Ehhh? Is this really happening? I still must be having a dream or have been transported to a parallel universe where he actually likes me or Salamon must've drugged him during the night or she drugged me! No matter, this really couldn't be happening! I'm pretty sure I haven't died and gone to heaven yet, but this is better! Much much much better! …woah now I'm babbling._

As I struggled to retain my outer composure, that very pretty boy explained himself, "Rika told me that you really loved Odaiba, but you didn't get to see many of the best sights, so I thought you'd wanna go back and see more." He gave me a dazzling smile, his silvery eyes disappearing when doing so. That smile was my weakness. Well…that…and bribery.

_Is he implying a date!_ My eyes widened as the thought came to my head, but then my enthusiasm deflated. _Ha, what am I even considering that for? Of course it's not._ That thought in my head, I could openly answer with most self-control back in me, "Yeah, sure, that'd be awesome, Henry. I'd love to go out with you—I-I-I mean, go with you." I gave a cheesy grin, my blush deepening farther than I thought possible. "Hahaha, I can be such a moron with words!" Internally, despite that excuse and big, toothy grin and the fact I was now faking a loud, long laugh, I was scolding myself for being such an idiot to let something like that slip out.

I quickly became aware I sounded like a babbling crazy just standing there laughing at pretty much nothing and swung open the door, almost hitting myself with it while fumbling with words, trying not to sound absolutely giddy but failing because I couldn't stop laughing like a love-struck little schoolgirl that was high off of sugar.

If things kept on like this, I figured Henry was soon gonna regret taking me to Odaiba.

He laughed lightly at my cover-up, showing no signs of seeing through my pathetic excuse. "Okay, but first I can make breakfast before we go. What do you want?" His head was tilted to the side sweetly, his eyes shining. _So…pretty…Must. Take. Mental. Image…_

Closing the door so I had something to support myself with in case I fainted or something, I felt my jaw drop a little bit as I thought about what I wanted. I couldn't really think at this point, which really wasn't a surprise, so I just responded, "Uh, I guess I'm really not that hungry." I scratched the back of my head, my eyes shooting off in a random direction.

He shrugged indifferently. "All right, then let me just quick get ready." He walked out of the room and left me to stare at the place where he once stood, like that was the very place where angels have tread. But this quite possibly could've been true.

I unclipped my D-Arc from my belt loop to look at my reflection in the little screen. _Well, this is a new low right here…_ I mused with a frown, straining my fingers through my hair in effort to make it look a little better, but as usual my attempt was all in vain.

In just mere minutes, that sexy bluenette (wow. Too much Salamon contact.) returned, his hair arranged in place perfectly, and with some spiffy duds. He wore a light green V-neck tee with the hem, neck, and sleeves tipped in a darker green, a white long-sleeved shirt under, and casual khakis. He, too, had his D-Arc clipped to a belt loop, probably a helpless habit to do so, despite his partner's current MIA-ness on this particular occasion.

His eyes seemed to take on a new brightness too, their silvery color like liquid mercury with flecks of light blue. "Okay, you ready?"

My eyes were pretty much stapled onto his form, and whatever gears _had_ been turning in my head before this moment suddenly jammed, rusted, and became completely inactive. My voice box stopped working too apparently, inflicting another low, unfair blow to my self-esteem. Or at least what was left of it. "Nyggaa…"

* * *

We stopped back at my place so I could tell my aunt and uncle where we were going, change to fresh clothes, and grab some money. But as soon as I had opened the door, I could already tell that even entering that household was a very, very bad idea.

It looked normal from the outside (aside from a broken window which I couldn't remember if it was broken when I had left the night before. I doubted it.), but the inside was a different story. A tornado couldn't have caused this much damage even if it tried. Everything that could be overturned was, everything that could be spilled, broken, or stolen was. And in the middle of it all were all of the Digimon passed out all over the floor.

I walked over to Salamon, who was out like a light and had a bottle sticking out of her mouth. I clicked my tongue and mumbled with the shaking of my head, "And she said she wasn't an alcoholic…" I reached down and grabbed the bottle, sniffed it, and groaned. _At least I'll be gone when she wakes up and is all grouchy with hangover…_

Continuing through the house, I grabbed my entire suitcase and retreated to the bathroom. Unzipping it, I scavenged through the whole stupid thing, not finding anything suitable. Nothing caught my attention and made me think Henry would like it—

I stopped abruptly. _Oh God, I've become one of _those_ girls. I've become what I've sworn I'd never be: A girl that dresses to catch guys' eyes…_ Despite my realization, I still stared down at my clothes in disappointment that I didn't have anything nice. _Of course, I don't…_ But mid-thought, my eye caught glimpse of a large pocket I hadn't ever noticed, let alone opened.

Unzipping it, I pulled out a set of clothes with a little note pinned to it that read, _In case you get set on a cutie :) ~Mom _

Groaning, I shook my head and mumbled while smiling awkwardly, "Yeah, didn't see that one coming." I proceeded to look over the set of clothes that my mom picked out. And I had to admit that she did pretty good. The top was frame-fitting and slimming, a pink-purple color with deep purple horizontal stripes, the jeans were a dark blue boot-cut, there was a necklace with three little transparent hearts attached, a little iron-bead bracelet with a heart charm, and two star-shaped hair clips that were matching the color of the pink-purple on the shirt. It was pretty cute, I admitted to myself, and I really wasn't one to call clothing _cute_.

I threw it all on, well, all but the hair clips because there was just no taming my bangs, so resorted to putting my hair up into a high ponytail and clipping one of the stars to the hair band. Scanning myself in the mirror, I reasoned that the clothes looked better off me than on me, but it was going to have to do, since it was the nicest thing I had with me.

And leaving my whole suitcase and extra clothes strewn about in the bathroom (hey, it matched the rest of the practically-destroyed house at this point), I exited and headed to the kitchen, where I left a note that explained my location, since I figured it would be better than getting an earful from Aunt Mie about watching over Sal as Uncle Takehiro just stood by with a look that showed pity for me on his face. Except I had difficulty making my writing readable, since my hands were shaking so bad that what I tried to make didn't even resemble the letters and words they were intended to be. I couldn't write even a simple thing like _Out with Henry. Be back later. –Rai_ or anything like that; the whole concept was leaving me questioning my reality.

What was this to Henry?

The question was answered as soon as it entered my head, making me feel utterly foolish for even forming. To him, this was just a normal outing, a friend spending the day with a friend. It was painfully obvious that he had no romantic feelings towards me; if that _weren't_ the case, then he would've shown something by this point. I figured our last "experience" when he walked me home was merely bent by my mind, and was exactly like today was. Two friends going…yeah, just going. The phrase "going out" seemed too much, even if I thought about it with nothing attached. And on that note, were we even technically friends?

Sure, we could talk and usually hold proper conversation, but I bet with myself that had Takato not been in the equation, and I had out of the blue just collided into the Wong boy as I had, nothing more would've spurred. I would've lost a sketchbook, he wouldn't have known what to do with it, much less where to take it, and we wouldn't have officially met. Maybe that's all I really was to him deep down, just Takato's cousin. It would be the very same for me to think of him as just Takato's friend. So what would we have if Takato was removed from all of this?

Nothing.

I scribbled down words that I hoped made sense or was at least a little readable, my face suddenly bent into a discouraged frown in response to my ponderings, and slammed the pen down on the counter on top of the note. I wasn't angry by any means, just a little frustrated with myself. There was a distinct ability I possessed that could make me automatically have a problem with my thinking skills and my outlook. It threw everything out of whack.

Walking back into the living room, I didn't dare look around at the mess and passed out Digimon, and merely said, "'Kay, let's go before…yeah, I'm not even gonna finish that." I watched the corners of his mouth curve upward to a smile and open to let out a chuckle as he followed me out of the house. _Maybe I have to correct myself_, I noted, stealing another look back at his face so quick he couldn't detect that I turned to get a glance. _Friend. At least._

* * *

We took a train on Route Eleven to Odaiba. It went over the Rainbow Bridge, a large suspension bridge that stretched across the Tokyo Bay that had two decks, use determined by how you were crossing it. It gave a view of both the central Tokyo shore and also the shore of Odaiba. Looking directly out the window showed blue, blue water, sparkling like crystals and dotted by tiny ships heading to and from the various harbors.

I pressed my fingers to the glass, tracing lines and swirls on it, smiling as if I could actually smell the sea breeze from inside the train as it pulled into the station, and wishing that I could. But when actually getting off the train, and meeting Odaiba, all I could take in was the musty smell from dust, pollution, and old people. Pleasant.

"So," Henry began, showing his white teeth in a sweet smile that almost made me squeal. _Man, I got issues…_ "Anything you wanna do first?" He led me over to a big sign-thingy that had a half-realistic, half-cartoonish map of the island. Despite the fact it was of pretty good size, it was _not_ to scale. _...Don't know why I just felt I needed to mention that…_

My lips pursed a little tighter as I thought for a moment. "Um…" I scanned over the map, reading off names in my head of all of the places. _What if I pick a place that I wanna go to that Henry wouldn't be interested in? I don't wanna make him go through that… So…what do I do then? I don't really know what he likes…_ I blinked a few times, trying to sort things in my head that could be evidence as to what he was interested in. Nothing. "Uh…how 'bout you pick a place? You'd probably know of better places than I do, because you're, uh, smart like that," I suggested, throwing on a cheesy grin and turning pink.

He shrugged, his smile fading none, and glanced at the map. It didn't take him long to point out something. It was a slightly rectangle building with on side curved to give an artistic sort of appearance. "How about Miraikan? It's the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation. It always has lots of new exhibits about science and technology."

_So he's one of those sciency guys…_ I felt my eyebrow twitch and I tried to force it to stop. Scientific studies never ever made the effort to make sense to me. "Hehe, sure, I love science!" The overdramatic sound that came from my voice didn't really sound convincing, nor did my wording, but I tried to make the best of it. "Just lead the way!" _Wow, that has gotta be one of the dumbest things I have ever said…_

Miraikan was a large museum, seven levels and most of its walls open glass that revealed outside. On one end of the building was a large globe that had a path that wrapped around it that went up from the third level to the fifth. It seemingly had little squares that made up the surface, kind of like a disco ball, except…for uh, learning stuff.

I ran partway up the path so I was in line with the center of the globe and watched it change from a normal world, to one colored with reds, oranges, yellows, and greens, to one with various blotches of color, and one with various writings and text on it before repeating the cycle. I didn't feel like looking at a sign for an explanation to the different earths, as the colors had caught my attention too much for that to even occur to me.

Henry joined me in a few moments, despite that he had walked (he was a very fast walker apparently) and leaned his arms up against the railing. "This is Miraikan's most commonly-known exhibit, the Geo-Cosmos. It's a model of how earth appears from in space with extremely high precision, over ten million pixels, using organic LED panels." He paused momentarily, and even though this would've given me a chance to ask what the heck he meant, I didn't wanna sound like an idiot, so I didn't. "The normal earth displays hourly satellite images, the red and green earth shows the distribution of CO2 in both the present and past, the multi-colored classifies the land based on data from Terra, the artificial satellite, and the one with writing shows human activity with intertwining graphics and words."

My jaw dropped open a little bit. He had rattled off all that information like he had spent time learning it with flashcards. I was officially impressed by his super special awesome smartness. "Yeah, that makes sense," I responded in attempted calm tone, trying to sound smart and agreeable but, really not knowing what supposedly made sense.

We watched the earth change colors for a few moments, sort of like a kaleidoscope but a lot slower in changing and the whole globe goes black before turning to another color set. I leaned forward and rested my elbows on the rail, watching the lights change on the panels to give the impression the earth was rotating. Despite the fact I didn't understand the science of it, it was enough to make me happy that Henry knew enough to take me here.

From there, we went up to the sixth floor where there was a large white dome. It turned out to be, as I learned when we went inside, a planetarium with easily a hundred reclining seats. The presentation that began to play after we got settled was called Tender is the Night. The whole room got dark, and then twinkling stars of all sizes appeared in perfect arrangement. A voice from the sound system, a woman's gentle, sweet voice, began to recite poetry about the night, accented by quiet noises of nature and wildlife, changing to music, and then human society.

It made my imagination run about and suddenly I wasn't sitting in a chair, I was out in nature, lying on a hillside looking at the night sky, the breeze blowing through my hair and ruffling my bangs about. I turned my head to the right and saw Henry's eyes glistening from the stars' light. He was watching me watching him, both of our faces ridden with mystification.

He must have been wondering why I was looking at him, while at the same time I was wondering why _he_ was looking at _me_. Without any given warning, we simultaneously broke into light smiles. I wasn't sure what it was, but something just made me so tempted to laugh whole-heartedly. I had always been afraid of change, but this was so pleasantly different, pleasantly new.

This warm, fuzzy feeling filled my chest. It felt like a bunch of clouds were trapped inside me, and as they filed out from head to toe, made me tickle under my skin. Bubbles seemed to caress my face, floating around the curves that distinguished my facial features, around my cheeks, and through my hair. My toes tingled like being poked with soft q-tips, but still felt they were being cooked over a bonfire. But it felt good. Really good.

I brought my hands up from my lap to the armrests on both sides of me, but was surprised when I put my right hand upon his left. Jerking it quickly away, I was thankful he couldn't see my blush, and with an embarrassed smile, silently mouthed a "sorry". He merely gave a small "whatever" shrug of his shoulders, still staring at me with an unfazed beaming. My face returned to a contented expression as I inched a little closer to him. I was extremely tempted ehem, "doze off", and put my head on his shoulder, but I figured that'd creep him out a little too much and sorta ruin the moment. But this was good enough. I was _juuust_ fine.

I mean, seriously. Who needed to know science when this made it so much better than any level of understanding?

We had spent several hours at Miraikan, Henry constantly impressing and re-impressing me with his smartness of just about…everything (it was as if he had every exhibit memorized). By the time we were done there, it was into the early afternoon, and the call of un-smart civilization was beckoning me.

Now that it was midday, it had proven to be a rather warm day, a gentle breeze going around through the streets like a ghost haunting the manmade island. The sun was shining down on us, only a few puffy white clouds dotting the sky that matched the color of the sea. It was a simply flawless day weather-wise, and beginning to seem the same event-wise as well. That pretty Wong boy offered we go to Venus Fort since it'd be apparently a big break for me from all of the informational places, as he had said, and left me to my wonderings of what that place was exactly. My first thought was of a fort like Fort Knox or something ('cept on Venus), but figured that really wasn't the case.

I was caught wondering what he meant when he said it'd be a break for me. If he was taking me to a book store with just picture books in it (I do like those), a mattress showroom to catch some Z's because I can only take so much information in at a time without getting fatigued, or what. He probably figured museums and such bored me, since I hardly ever talked smart stuff, but that was because I never had reason to. I only whipped out the logic card if I had something to prove, and I hardly ever did since battles of wit (or lack thereof) hardly ever included me.

We came to a large building that seemed to stretch back far. It was mostly white in color on the outside and had a small arch-looking thing before a set of steps that read 'palette town' in the colors of the rainbow, which immediately brought my mind to the Pokemon games. On the wall of the building in big black letters was written 'Venus Fort' and below it slightly in smaller text was 'Outlet + Grand + Family'. Walls several feet high led up to the steps and had colored silhouettes of people walking for a decorative sort of sense.

The word outlet made me realize what he was implying. Outlet. Mall. Restaurants. Food court. Food. F-O-O-D.

"Henry, you are a genius beyond any genius I know. But that's not saying much because you're the only genius I know." My eyes stuck fast to the windows of the building, trying to envision the inside and where the best places to eat could possibly located, even though the accuracy of my predictions could be off very, very much.

I could hear the awkwardness setting in his voice as his face reddened a little and rubbed his cheek with the tip of his index finger. "Uh, I'm flattered…I guess."

When we went in, the first thing I noticed was the ceiling that was made to look like the sky, blue and cloudy just like that very day. There were shops everywhere as far as my vision went. Immediately to my right was a McDonald's, which honestly didn't surprise me, and to my left was a Starbucks, next to it on one side a convenience store, and on the other a big-big place called Kawaii Paradise, which just screamed out girliness with its pinkness.

My eyes hurt I was seeing so hard. "Whoa. Big."

The first place we stopped to was an amazing European-style café called Park Avenue Cléa de Clare. I thought I was gonna die. It was stocked full of rice, curry, and most importantly, _waffles_. For five hundred yen, I got the most beautiful thing I could ever dream of eating: A chocolate banana waffle.

It was a big perfectly-rectangular waffle with a chopped banana on top and chocolate syrup drizzled over it all. It looked very professional until it had been placed at our table in front of me. I nearly choked on my saliva. "Oh. Sweet. Mama." And in about that time it took for me to say that remark, I finished it, even eating the little leave-thingy that they put on top for decoration of which I wasn't sure if was meant to be eaten or not.

So then I sat, feeling defeated by time itself, watching Henry deposit some of that Hokkaido soft-serve ice cream he bought past his lips in what seemed to be slow motion. An involuntarily thought came to my head, making my whole body feel like it was not so conveniently trapped in a sauna and disturbing myself just a little bit, _What I wouldn't give to be that spoon dishin' up that ice cream…_

I watched intently, trying not to, but still staring at the movement of his lips like I was studying its motion patterns, trying to memorize them unconsciously. I thought for sure my eyes were gonna either burst like balloons or get stuck in place when I caught gaze of his tongue go lightly over the surface of his top lip.

_Oh my God…_ I sucked in my breath quickly and suddenly started choking on it. My hands flew to my chest as I started having myself a merry little coughing fit. As Henry began to get up, setting down the ice cream I was jealous of, I shooed him back down with the flicking of my wrist, catching my breath and cursing my stupid dysfunctional lungs. "I'm okay," I said after a few stray coughs, gritting my teeth together and pulling the corners of my mouth upward meekly while shrugging like a moron.

After that dandy experience, we went up to the second floor, where there were so many different shops, I thought I'd get dizzy from seeing so many price tags in so little time. The path that divided the rows of boutiques was wide and tiled to look as if we were really outside, the different stores' exteriors designed to look like European-style buildings. And in fact, the path was much more than that; it had a street name, Broad Avenue, which seemed very fitting with its length and width.

Getting onto the avenue and looking to my right, far down the way I saw an open area with a big building of which a nearby sign called The Church Plaza. And to my left a ways, saw another open area called Fountain Plaza. And in the middle of it, indeed I spotted a big fountain. "How 'bout we try that way first?" I questioned, gesturing in the fountain's direction, in secret really wanting to see its design up close while he gave a complying smile.

It was a very elegant, elaborate fountain, once it's seen from a short distance. It stood easily a dozen feet tall, on small stone islands, three statues of beautiful women knelt down before the center of the fountain, where three more statues seemed to be holding up the two bowls from which water fell into the basin. In the water, the water glowed a serene, robin's egg blue color that looked extremely appealing to a point I wanted to go in. But I'd never admit that aloud.

"Oi. So pretty…" I put my fingertips in the water and skirted the surface. It was rather lukewarm, like a bath after it had been sitting for a little while. Which made me suddenly want there to be bubbles in the fountain. Strange things that come to my mind…

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Henry gazing at the water sprinkle down from the top dish to the second. He seemed to be having a good enough time with me, so I guessed that maybe my assumption that we weren't really even friends was false for the most part. We weren't that close-knit, but we weren't just acquaintances, either.

That fact brought such a large grin to my face, that the boy my thoughts circled around noticed and while giving me a weird look, questioned, "Are you okay, Shirai?" Judging by his expression, however, he wasn't really concerned for my well-being as the words themselves suggested, rather he was close to laughing at my overall goofy smirk.

I scoffed so hard spit probably flew from my mouth. "Oh yah! You bet your, uh…your, uh… Where was I headed with that?" My instant cloud nine fried my brain like food at the fair. I scratched my hairline just before my ear and began to laugh. I got great pleasure when I heard him join in with me, and so, couldn't help but laugh longer, more genuinely than awkwardly for once. I didn't care how many people turned to look at us, I was merely glad that he was the one I was caught having a good time with out of everyone I knew.

Sitting down on the edge of the fountain, I gathered my bearings back up and pursed my lips into a contented smile. I took the time to glance at all of the different stores and restaurants in the plaza, going across my line of sight from right to left. Levia-Lavia, Sou Sou, ice-watch, The Kiss, Cobara-Hetta, Mellow Stance…

The name of the jewelry store caught my attention. The Kiss. It seemed like a sweet store, light colors, a ton of cases of jewelry to display. It suddenly sounded really appealing to my girly side, shiny things on chains, recently polished by people highly-skilled in the field. I suddenly exclaimed with random ambition, jumping up from my place, "Henry, we have to see the shiny!"

"Wha—?"

Before he could even finish a word, I had grabbed his hand in mine and pulled him along with me to the shop. The first thing in there that caught my eye was a pair of necklaces. One was a pinkish-coppery sort of hue with a pink tourmaline, and the other was larger, a silvery-blue sort of hue with a blue sapphire. They were shaped like wings, but together made a cute heart, and had the words engraved in English on them that said, 'Flutters toward a dream'. Apparently they were released in collaboration with a movie called "Wings of the Kirin", as wings (hence the title) were a key symbol in the piece.

Yeah, I was pretty sure my girly side was showing, especially as the next words came out of my mouth, "Pretty shininess…" But my bubble burst as soon as I caught sight of the price tag, and I thought I was gonna burst into tears. "Eleven thousand frickin' yen _each_?"

I clenched my fists in my irritation and I heard a little yelp come from the bluenette beside me, making me remember I was still holding his hand and now crushing it. Releasing it quickly, my face glossed with a strawberry color as I held my own hands behind my back while mumbling quietly, my blue eyes darting away, "Sorry…"

* * *

It was several hours before we got out of there, so sunset was beginning to take its hold on the sky. The colors above were deepening in hue, and where the sun had been was now beginning to take a radiant red-orange hue. It was about this time or possibly even before that I had departed from Odaiba with Rika, but Henry as of this point hadn't mentioned a thing about catching the next train back to Shinjuku. So that must've meant there was more we could do, and I really wasn't complaining about it. I didn't have reason to grumble about anything that had happened with him today. This was by far one of the best days I had since I arrived, even if it wasn't technically a date.

"Here's where we're going. You better not be too afraid of heights," Henry stated with a smirk, gesturing upward.

Nine hundred yen out of my pocket and a few minutes later, we were on the Daikanransha ferris wheel. It was an icon of Palette Town, and at this current time of day, they had lit it up with multicolored lights. I could see the Rainbow Bridge from above, lit up just like the wheel, cars going across it like shooting stars. I had fifteen minutes with Henry at a place that only he would know was a great place to take me. I refused to screw up.

I fidgeted uncomfortably in my seat, stealing glances over at him frequently, but for the most part going back and forth between staring at my lap and out the window. _I only have fifteen minutes…_ "So!" My sudden outburst made him jump slightly and I apologized with my eyes. He looked so gorgeous in the light of the wheel. "Why did you do this? Why did you waste a whole day with me?"

He shrugged, studying my face in a manner that made my skin crawl with a strange warmth. "I figured that if we spent some extra time together, you might like me a little more." He smiled partly, tilting his head slightly in a way that his hair seemed to ripple like waves slightly.

I tried to shut off the panic alarm going off in my head, but it was hardly working. _Wait, what does he mean? Is he implying what I think he is? No, he can't be! But what if he is? …Okay, okay. Rai, you _cannot_ lose your cool yet. Keep strong…_ "Wait, you think I _don't_ like you? What would give you that idea?" _Did I not humiliate myself in front of you enough?_

His silver eyes darted away for a second as he gathered a proper response. "It always seems like you try to avoid me, like last night and this morning, so I thought—" I hated cutting off his amazing voice, but apparently I did it anyway, realizing that he had noticed all my attempts to get away from potential embarrassment.

"No, I'm just like that sometimes." I was glad that was pretty much true, since I was one to become subject to awkward situations more often than not. "Sorry if I gave you that impression. Don't worry, I like you." I smiled at him.

He beamed back at me. His smile was so much nicer than my own. Actually he was pretty much better than me in every way, shape, and form. "Really?"

"Heh, yeah. I really, really like you." An awkward silence ensued my statement as the meaning of my words sunk into my head and I forced myself to add on, "That came out wrong." I noticed his face matched mine in color, blooming with a vibrant crimson.

Out of nowhere came the remembrance of my conversation with Calumon I had last night. I flashed forward past all of the babbling that took place about dating, and something that he had said that really struck me. _"This is just like jumping into a pool of chocolate pudding! At first, you don't want to because you'll get all dirty, but once you're in, you get pudding!"_

There had to be a reason why it had come to my head, beyond just mind-wanderings. _Fifteen minutes, fifteen minutes, fifteen minutes…._ I tried to make sense of everything, rolling the small Digimon's words over and over inside my skull. Was this supposed to be some sort of hint? Pictures flashed in my mind, all of the instances that I had thought maybe the boy sitting before me had feelings for me, but then were replaced by the doubt that had always followed.

I couldn't deny it was bothering me. It was killing me. I had to know. Calumon was right, he was right with me being afraid of rejection, he was right with his overly-twisted simile. He knew it before I did, and so he tried to show me. He saw the looks I had on my face, my single wish I had made at the Bon Festival, my sketches that always seemed to turn out the same way, and may not have understood what lied under it all, but knew enough to tell me to close the case.

My palms began to sweat and my chest grew tight. _Heart attack?_ No. It wasn't a pain, but it wasn't a totally comfortable feeling either. It was like the stage fright I always felt when getting up in front of people, yet there was only him here. I refused to let fear constrict my throat. I would do this. No backing down.

_Run. Run for that finish line. Run. Run. Run._

I needed a breath to prepare myself. I blinked a few times, trying to clear my head. No more doubts. I couldn't afford to have doubts. I wouldn't let this go to waste. Exhaling, I whispered to myself, "Pudding."

Henry caught the sound of my voice, but was too late in questioning. My heart beating so hard in my ears that I thought it would burst from rapidity, before I could tell myself one more word of procrastination and doubt, I pressed my lips to his. I noticed the uncertainty in the shape of his mouth; I knew I had caught him severely off-guard, but I wasn't about to apologize.

Regret. Nothing.

I pulled back after a few moments, biting my lip and unable to look at him. The burn on my cheeks was highly evident, I could be certain of that. I almost felt like crying, but I refused to. I wasn't about to take back what I had waited so long to give. If he didn't want it, so what? I needed my closure, so if he didn't care about me, at least I would know instead of waiting.

His voice sounded a bit shaken. I wished I could've seen the look on his face, but my eyes were glued downward on my shoes. "W-what was that?"

I didn't hear anything negative in his voice, so I took that as a positive, if anything. My problem was I wasn't sure if I could give a response. I was certain that he was probably more taken aback than I was, but it was as if the kiss and all the strength it took to do it drained me of all ability to speak. A few moments had to pass before I gathered nerve to reply in a meek manner. "…Me…doing something…very stupid…"

There was a significant change in his tone, one that brought my head upward slightly. "Not necessarily."

My eyes shot back up at the words and out of nothingness, came a spark. From that spark, a flame. We leaned forward, he took my face in his warm, soft hands, and our lips connected. I finally had my dirty little secret.


	13. Chapter 12: Don't Let It End

**So! Chapter 12! Finally into the plotty stuff here! Gomen for suck a late update; I'll be sure to go faster next time!**

**Anyway, as previously stated, this has plot-relevent stuff here, so be sure to pay attention! This chapter was extremely hard to write out, as I hate doing bad things to good characters. Gomen, all of my Tamer buddies! *hands little daisy to each Tamer***

**I'm really sorry that not too much happens here, mostly dialogue, originally there was gonna be more in it, but I wanted to cut off the ending that I had planned for more suspense. Don't hate me too much! :'(**

**Please please R&R this one! I really need criticism!**

* * *

Chapter 12: Don't Let It End

"Hey, Takato, I'm back!"

As I came through the door, it was very difficult to hide my absolute giddiness about the about the whole day, especially those fifteen minutes of total, flawless bliss. Trying to conceal what was clearly written in the notes of my voice after they had come out my mouth left me wondering of my usual-clueless cousin would catch my mood and proceed to question why. I knew I should have been thinking of some sort of cover story, but my mind was too busy going back to the scene it had been returning to again and again the entire night.

"_Not necessarily."_

_When our lips came together and he put his hands to my face, I could feel the uncertainty in the shape of his mouth. His lips were soft, and ripples of this warm emotion caressed every inch of my body like a comfy blanket, but I could feel that he was thinking hard about what we were doing, wondering if this was really what we _should_ be doing, given our current connections._

_This wasn't the time or the place, but instantly my cousin came to mind. How would this affect him, me being his kin, Henry his best friend? Would be just be making things extremely awkward for him, sticking him in the middle of all this?_

_No! I shot the thoughts out of my head. This is what I wanted; if Takato had a problem with it, then tough tomatoes (heh heh, tomatoes.). I pressed my lips harder and put his arms around his neck, trying to show him now wasn't the time for thinking, to act now and think later, because he knew as well as I did that if he wanted me, then he could go right ahead and take me._

_In response, I felt him reshape his lips, getting my message, and the cautious, reserved boy he was became self-assured and confident. The change had honestly surprised me and caught me severely off-guard, as it seemed so out of character for him, but I didn't mind the transformation. I could still feel his normal self under it, however. He wasn't forceful, and seemed careful to be gentle with me, keeping from doing things that I might not like. But I really didn't care; he could do whatever he pleased. He had complete control._

_But we had to break apart when I forgot that I had to breathe. My whole body trembled, my mind reeling in order to comprehend what had just exactly happened. My common sense wanted to doubt it, yet my reality told me to take it all in. It had actually occurred, I had just—_

_I couldn't even admit it to myself properly without my entire being electrocuted with absolute happiness. From in our little Ferris wheel passenger car, I wanted to scream out what all had just gone down, to run all around Odaiba and tell everyone I saw, but there was a part of me that knew better, that said that was the worst thing to do. Again that question arrived in my head:_

_What about Takato?_

_The idea that he might act irrationally filled my head. There was a chance he would totally disapprove of everything. _But—_I glanced over at Henry, who was watching me with a radiating face, probably wondering why I was being totally silent_—I don't wanna get rid of this now… Not after coming this distance. I refuse, Takato, I refuse…

_Defiance wasn't really something I acted out upon to someone I loved. I knew it as well as Takato did that I'd never turn against him, not voluntarily, not if I could help it. But I felt like I couldn't turn away now, but at the same time, I couldn't just let this moment pass me by. There was just something that made me feel like letting go of this meant letting go of the tribulations I had brought myself through and deeming them for nothing._

_My teeth pressed into my lower lip, like they didn't believe just what my mouth had been touching moments before. "H-Henry." My eyes flickered into his and then off just as quickly. "We can't tell anyone about…" I stopped. What was gonna happen to us now? It would be so hard to go back to just mere friendship after something like this…_

"_I-I'm not ashamed!" I added quickly, hoping that wasn't the impression he had gotten. "It's just that…Takato… I really don't know what he'd do if he found out about…" My mouth wouldn't allow me to say it. I didn't want to be wrong if I said we were a thing, because I really didn't know if this automatically made us one or not. So I skipped over the definition, "I mean…I don't know what might happen if he found out, you being his best friend, and I his cousin—" _

_He startled me when he cut me off without a warning, "Then we don't have to tell anyone." He smiled genuinely as the next following statement flowed from his mouth, "I don't want to let this go. And if you don't, then no one has to know." His gaze locked with mine as I tried to tell him with them that I refused to dismiss any of this, and he broke into a wider smile. "Good at keeping secrets?"_

"You didn't kill Henry inside too much, did you?" Takato called back, walking into the room to greet me. His hair seemed more unruly than usual and he seemed extremely disoriented. Looking at him up and down, and then around the room made me conclude that he was forced to spend the day cleaning up the disaster the Digimon had made, which I had completely forgotten about until this particular moment.

Pursing my lips, I tried to keep in a loud, involuntarily laugh at his question. I gulped hard, attempting to keep the blush off my face, and doing so for the most part pretty well. "Meh. He should have some life left," I choked out, the thought of the bluenette sizzling every inch of my skin with a warm fuzzy feeling. "Or at least I hope so." He watched me with a puzzled expression as I let my hair down from the ponytail while smiling like a dork.

He narrowed his eyes, trying to dig around in my head and figure out just what was going on with me, causing me to wonder just how close he was to the real truth. Probably couldn't be farther at this point. "I'll call tomorrow and make sure you didn't break him somehow."

I let out a chuckle. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea." Heading to my room, I glanced back at him, adding, "Well, I'm turning in. Night-night." I smirked at my wording, finding it pleasantly unusual. I walked up the stairs to my room, seeing my suitcase on the floor, packed back up after being strewn about in the bathroom earlier that morning. Salamon was conked out on my bed, lying belly-up like a dead fish.

I sat on the edge of the bed, beaming uncontrollably at the day's events. I knew that for now at least I was in the safe, as Takato merely assumed I'd cause Henry mental damage, let alone what had _actually_ occurred, although I couldn't blame him because I probably would've assumed the same thing if I were him. It wasn't really clear to me how easy it'd be for some of the other Tamers to piece it all together, as the smartest one of them was actually part of the secret, so I figured I'd have to play my moves extra carefully.

But it was impossible for me to forget _why_ I was actually keeping a secret. _Henry and me…_ My teeth hurt I was grinning so hard. I was just so wired from it; I wanted to run around in a circle squealing like a little girl. I refused to do that, however, as that would justify scribbling 'Mrs. Shirai Wong' on a piece of paper a million times with cutsie, mult-colored hearts, and I really, _really_ didn't think that was necessary.

_Still…_

"Heeeheee~!" The girly squeal escaped my lips as I let my head drop down onto the mattress, spreading my arms out to the sides, and erupting into long, uncontrollable laughter. I didn't care how loud I was; I had to let out some of this energy that was building up inside me otherwise I would probably pop like an over-inflated balloon. "Hee hee heeee~!"

"Do you _frickin' _mind?" I noticed Salamon now wide awake, her head shot upward and glaring fierce daggers at me. Her blue eyes were a little bloodshot, most likely from the hangover. "_Some_ of us are waiting for the sweet release of death—in _silence!_"

Blinking a few times, I retorted with a snort, "Well, excuse me for living." I watched her face morph, as my remark was more of one that she would say than me than I to her, to something of bafflement and offense. But I really couldn't read her correctly, as I was thinking about other things and she probably couldn't remember how to make the proper facial expression that fitted her thoughts with her hangover.

She looked at me with a scrunched up nose. "Someone's being a little pesky. Something must've happened to put you in such a daring mood to challenge," she noted, trying to throw on a knowing smile, but coming off like she was about to go rabid and try to bite my head off. Her little puppy smiles usually didn't turn out like this.

I shrugged, realizing she was mostly right. After taking my chances and throwing it all on the line while on the Ferris wheel, I felt like I could pretty much take on anything. It must've been all that adrenaline pulsing through my loins like steroids, but really, I wasn't ready to completely gamble my secret away, especially to someone with a mouth that could stuff Texas in it. "Eh, not much. Just went Odaiba."

Despite the fact that my response said nothing about my current plight, Salamon ignored the feeling of hangover hanging over her and perked up, looking sort of intrigued. "Odaiba?" Her tone at first sounded sort of confused, but then it changed as soon as a smirk formed on her mouth. "Who with, _Rai_?" My name slipped out like she knew something I didn't know she knew that I knew that she wouldn't know. "The sexy bluenette?"

My spit clogged up my throat, keeping the breath from getting to my lungs, but I'd rather suffocate then let my secret out, so I kept my lips pursed till I thought of what to say. My voice squeaked at first, since my windpipe suddenly let air in, but became normal after a few syllables, "Well…uh…" Suddenly some words from my previous conversation had come to mind, _…you didn't break him somehow…_, and this sparked an idea into my head.

I snatched up a pillow and thrust it into my face to appear I was trying to knock myself out, proclaiming with a muffled voice, "Gaaah, he haaates meee~!" I tried to sound as whiney as I could, but under protection of the pillow, a perpetual beaming ensued. "He didn't seem like he was enjoying himself _at all_—actually it looked more like he was _constipated_!"

The instant mental image appeared of that poor, poor boy and I attempted to shove it out as Salamon began to fall into hysterical laughing, making out the words with a stretched enthusiasm that fit her persona, "AWW, RAI! You screwed yourself over GOOD!"

In the middle of what I thought was gonna be a good ten minutes of humor, she stopped short. The sudden silence made me pull the pillow off my face with a look of perplexity, and my eyes met her form sound asleep. Blinking a few times to make sure that was actually what I was seeing, and when reality that she was indeed unconscious hit, a light smile grew onto my face. "Heh, wow. That was simple enough."

The next morning, I was rudely awakened to a deranged prodding on my nose. When my eyes flickered open, they didn't really register what I was seeing until a few blinks and re-blinks. And when they did, they snapped open to disc-size and I let out with a bewildered tone, "Ack! What the heck? You don't live here!"

A yellow dog was mere centimeters from my face and it apparently could talk. "Woof woof! What you do if I _did_ live here?" it questioned. Its voice sounded oddly familiar…

I turned over and pulled the covers up over my head like a tomb, mumbling back, "Then I'd get a doghouse to put you into… Barking in the house is bad…" I began to doze again, trying so desperately to return to sweet, sweet dreams of He Who Should Be Dreamt Of Constantly.

The covers were ripped off of me, causing me to curl up in a ball to retain the heat that had been encased under the blankets like an oven, but failing rather miserably. "Rai! Time to get up now! Rai!" I ignored the dog's voice, or at least tried to, as it was kinda too hard to completely block out. "Up and at 'em!"

"Don't wanna!" I whined, squeezing my eyelids tightly shut, just in case the attempt to pry them open was made. _Back to dreams, back to dreams, back to dreams…_ I told myself, even though I knew that there was no way I was gonna get back to sleep now that I was talking with such emotion. If only I had kept my voice down, my trip back to dreamland would've been a lot easier. "Too early!"

"Up, up, up!"

I suddenly became aware of something soccer ball-sized cannonballing onto my stomach, jolting me up and awake with a pain-ridden yelp. By the time that I realized it was Calumon deciding it was a good moment to do an extreme wakeup call, I was already on my feet, standing on the bed, and had just dropkicked him across the room.

My reflexes were what I blamed.

But the blame wasn't really needed, as he popped back up, looking excited (a little shaken, but no less bursting with enthusiasm) as he exclaimed, "Do it again, Rai! That was super special awesome!" _Again with the YGOTAS quoting?_ He ran over and planted himself on my foot, looking up at me with those big scary, green eyes and wide, crazy smile that made me wanna open up a window and then kick him through it.

"Calumon! We came so Rai could help me with the thingy!" Jeri was standing by the edge of my bed, the dog puppet on her hand. _Oh yeah, that's what that was…Wow, I musta gone nuts to think dogs could talk…_ "You know! The thingy!"

I pulled my legs out from under me and let my body drop into a sitting position onto the mattress, my feet out in front of me. "What _thingy_?" I questioned, narrowing my eyes. That little voice in my head that bossed me around told me I really shouldn't have asked, but instead have indeed opened that window, and then proceeded to jump out of it.

"It's about a certain secret…" She made shifty eyes, her head not moving at all at this point and she seemed like she thought I knew what she was talking about.

_Oh. Crap._

"Who. The hell. Told you?" I hid my instant fear and at the same time, felt a little angry, as I didn't say anything to anyone so it must've been him. But why? Why the hell would he do that after we had both _promised_ not to? Stupid jerk.

Her eyes suddenly shot back to me, her brown eyes widening slightly. "Told me…?" She tried to piece things together in accordance to my demand. "Told me what? What secret do you think I'm talking about?"

This was about the time where I started questioning things, too. "What secret do _you_ think I think you think I'm talking about?"

"What secret do you think I think you think I think you think I—wait, what?"

We both got ultimately confused, as we apparently were having two different conversations with each other, and were suddenly brooding in silence, thinking about two individual secrets that we possessed. And I also mentally apologized to Henry for calling him a stupid jerk in my head…I think he forgave me.

I practically could hear the silence as it tried to burrow into my skull with a dental drill. My eyes darted all around, falling everywhere except on Jeri, trying to figure out whether or not she was thinking about and trying to put together what exactly _my_ secret was. I doubted it, but the possibility still continued to press up against me suggestively. "So exactly what is your…uh, thingy?" I finally mumbled awkwardly, tracing a circle around on my leg with the tip of my index finger.

Her face turned beat red. I had to admit, it was kinda nice seeing it on someone else instead of feeling it myself for a change. "Well, uh…you know, Takato, right?" When she paused to look at me, I gave her a look consisting of a raised eyebrow and corner of my lip, causing the fact that I indeed know the brown-haired boy hitting her like a diesel train. "Oh! Right! Ha ha ha, how dumb of me!"

I continued to stare, realizing she sounded a bit like me when caught in a weird conversation such as this one, and as I got up to actually find clothes for the day, she uncomfortably continued, "Well, I kinda…well…" A long silence ensued when I began to unzip my suitcase and dig within it, things seemingly harder to find as the days passed, making me consider using the dresser here in the spare bedroom I had been staying in. After a few moments, I heard the sound of her feet shuffling on the carpet absentmindedly. "I wanna…tell him…you know…don't you?"

The shirt I was holding dropped from my hand, a redness consuming me. I knew _exactly_ what she was saying. It seemed sort of ironic to me, that the night before I had taken the same risk she was asking me advice on, like Fate had it all set up in that way as some sort of…foreshadowing.

Frowning, I answered back, attempting so hard to keep my voice from cracking under the pressure, "Yeah. I know." I picked the shirt back up, an orange pull-over sweatshirt with a thick green strip going down the sleeves from the shoulders, and matched it with a white tee and baggy, tan khaki shorts. "…Did you…uh…need a game plan?"

Since I wasn't watching her, I figured now would be a good time for her to twiddle her thumbs if any kind of action was taken on her part. "Yeah…I don't know what to say or anything or where to do it or anything…" Her voice sounded so unnerved, like apparently this would be the last day she'd be able to say or do things about her predicament.

Zipping up my bag again, I sat pondering how to exactly answer. It made me go over my emotions from the night before, causing me great giddiness that I was forced to store up for later so I wouldn't get too nuts. I was a mentor…sort of…so I had to refrain my personal emotion getting her moment screwed up. So stroking the soft fabric of my sweatshirt, confirming my choice of attire, I responded, "…I suggest you do it somewhere you both are comfortable…er, somewhere chaos won't ensue…" My fingers thumped up against my knee as I clicked my tongue. "…Sorry, I'm not very good at this; you didn't exactly pick an area of my expertise…"

Apparently, my apology really didn't have to exist. A big smile grew on her pink face, and before I could anticipate what was coming my way, she squeezed me into a death hug, squealing, "The park! We'll go to the park! With all the memories we have there, there's no way he'll reject me! You're a genius! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'll be sure to pay you back for this!" She laughed freely, all the while preventing me from even breathing. "Maybe I can get Henry to go out with you!"

All my thoughts stopped short with that, as my jaw dropped slightly, my eyes widening, and I involuntarily let out a baffled, "Eh?"

She giggled at my response and let go to head for the door, almost in a skip. "Tell Takato to meet me there at one!" And with that, she darted out of the room in the form of a mass of brown-haired giddiness, leaving me wondering what had just happened and in enough of a stupor to follow after her in a hesitant walk.

Apparently she was gone by the time I got into the main hall and I caught sight instead of my cousin babbling to someone on the phone. I had a strong assumption that this was his phone call to Henry to confirm I hadn't stolen his sanity from him, as I heard him say as he got into earshot, "Henry, are you _sure_ she didn't break you? She's got a gift in that area, a lethal, life-sucking gift." _Wow, way to make me sound like a vampire._

I frowned at him while saying, "Yeah, I do. Now gimme." I interrupted their conversation by taking the phone away from him, leaving him confused about what my motives were, and walking away with it to my ear. "Hey, Henry." Even now, despite being unable to see his face, I felt my face radiating heat and pictures of last night flickering on and off like a slideshow in my mind.

There was a bit of a pause; clearly I caught him off-guard by suddenly being on the line. "Shirai…hey." His tone was kinda low-key, like he didn't want any of his family to know just who he was talking to. But that was understandable, knowing how his parents and siblings (when I say siblings, I mainly mean Jaarin) poke fun at him for being acquainted with girls.

I glanced around the room I was in before responding, checking to see if there was anyone around that could catch drift of my words. Even though there wasn't, my voice came out equally quiet as his was. "You're currently aware of that triangle-thing that my cousin's kinda trapped in, right?" I mentally corrected myself: It was more than a triangle when counting all of the girls that swamped him for his personality that was apparently so dorky, it was cute.

He made this awkward sound that sounded like a long, stuttered, 'Ehhh…', but just from that, I knew he had knowledge of what I was speaking. Although that wasn't saying much, since he had knowledge of just about everything. "Yeah, pretty much everyone is aware of it, despite the fact they're constantly trying to hide it from us," he responded flatly. He probably made some gesture like rolling his eyes at this point. "Why?"

Pressing my finger to my cheek and allowing my gaze to go up to the ceiling, I tried to think of a proper way of answering without sounding stupid. "Well, let's just say that triangle isn't gonna stay in that shape for very long. That's why—" I paused to yawn and put the phone in between my ear and shoulder. "—We need—" Having made it back to my room, I stripped down and changed. "—to keep an eye on them. One o'clock, Jeri said." After slipping the sweatshirt over my tee, I took the phone back in my hand. "Sooo… you got it?"

There was a small pause as he clearly lost himself in thought. After a few moments, I heard him click his tongue. "Yeah, I got it." He trailed off, falling back into the abyss of his ever-swimming mind. There never seemed to be a time when his brain didn't move full-throttle.

My body ignited like a torch. Just hearing his voice set the world ablaze, feeling the silence when his mind burst with activity and sending me continuously back into a deep flood of those beautiful memories of the night prior.

I began to wander vacantly around the Matsuki household as my mind streamed. The silence that ensued between me and the boy on the other side of the line didn't really bother me, as much as keep me occupied. I was rather quick to realize that there didn't really have to be words between us for us to have some sort of interaction. At least for me, hearing his breath in my ear was enough.

Stopping in a doorway, I scratched the paint with my fingernail with more or less concentration on precision. I merely watched my finger move up in down as it started to peel off the color that the room had taken on easily a decade or more ago, probably around the time Takato was born. It revealed a drab brown of the wood that stood out from the paint's color, noticeably so. "Oops." I backed away from the wall and decided that if the situation called, I'd deny knowledge of the ugly spot now on the doorway.

Deciding to get back into a conversation instead of outwardly ignoring Henry, I began, "So how is—?" But I was interrupted by an all-too hectic cousin cutting in and darting past me.

He was pulling a white pull-over sweatshirt over his head in the middle of his rush and his vision momentarily handicapped, he bashed right into a wall.

_What skill_, I noted with an unimpressed frown, verbally saying to Henry rather flatly, "Henry, your best friend has a brain cell deficiency. Even more so now, as he just ran into a wall." I turned my attention to my cousin who had by now managed to recover from the unexpected blow. _Well, at least he physically recovered. I can't say the same for his pride. _"What are you doing?"

It took him a second to respond as he gathered up what little bearings and such that he still possessed. And even when he did speak, it was to himself, believe it or not. "Oh beans. Oh beans, oh beans, oh beans. I gotta go, I'm so late!" Putting his goggles onto his head hastily, he accidentally managed to snap himself in the face.

I raised an eyebrow at him as I caught ear of Salamon running down the stairs and then jumping up onto my shoulder to get a view of what was going on with my insane relative. "Or ignore me. That's good too," I mumbled in irritation.

Takato made a beeline for the door after getting his mind back on whatever track it needed to be on, and swinging the door open (and almost whacking himself in the process), he called back to me, "I'm going out to hang with Rika for a while! Be back later!" And with that last note, I was suddenly faced with yet another problem sourced directly to my idiot cousin.

A long pause to keep my temper in check. Breathe in, breathe out. Breath in-

_Oh, screw it._

"Gaaah! Crap!" I was about to throw the phone across the room when I remembered who was on the other end of it and decided against it. "Crap! Crap! Crap! What the heck is that idiot _thinking_?"

Salamon just looked at me funny. It was that look that she gave me when I was doing something sort of disgusting, like picking gum off of the sidewalk and putting it in my mouth (for the last time, it was on a dare!). All she could say was the following: "What crawled up _your_ butt and died?"

A scowl made its way onto my face with her choice of words. "Shut up, Sal," I grumbled bluntly.

With my free hand, I whacked her off my shoulder and headed to another room, speaking into the phone, "Henry, we're about to do something very, very rash that you and I both know our parents would kill us for if they found out, 'cause at our age, it's in society considered very, very bad."

There was a slight pause before he replied with his as-a-matter-of-factly voice, "Shirai, I am not having sex with you."

I literally facepalmed at the remark. Honestly, I could understand how he derived that from my wording after thinking it over, but his flat-out rejection of it (despite not being intentionally implied) was kind of insulting. "No, not that! I mean we're gonna take up stalking!"

"...Oh. Crap."

* * *

I scratched my chin with a frustration growing in me. A glance at the clock showed it was almost twelve, and there was no way to tell where the heck Takato had gone with Rika. I knew they wouldn't have gone on a date or anything, as 1) Takato lacked spine to ask her, and 2) even if he did, she probably would have hurt him for asking her to something so formal and stupid.

If I couldn't find him and get him to the park by one, I was as good as screwed and as good as deaf, since he had no knowledge of what I was supposed to tell him and if Jeri found that out, I'd surely get an earful for ruining her future.

I could just hear her now, ranting on and on about how she spent all that time preparing for me to destroy the life she was gonna have with him and so now they won't have her dream wedding and she won't be the mother of his children and they won't grow old together and all that sorts of shizz that apparently all girls thought about.

...Okay, I'll admit it. I've thought about it a little bit too.

"All right, Henry, time for a pause for the cause..." I said with a big sigh, plopping my bones down on a park bench and sprawling my limbs out like a drunkard. "Oi, stalking would be easier if we knew where the one we're supposed to stalk actually is."

The bluenette sat down next to me and stretched his arms upward. He closed his eyes when he titled his head upward towards the sun, leaving me to watch with an open mouth as he took in the light looking like a freaking god. He was good at that. "Takato didn't even say where he was going?"

My head found itself shaking involuntarily. I was too wrapped up in ogling at him to stop myself. Or even notice. "Nope, he just said he was gonna hang out with Rika. He's pretty good at being unclear," I retorted, growing red when he noticed me gazing so intently at him.

It seemed like a response came out of nowhere. "Yes, but he's also good at leaving things behind...!"

Salamon suddenly jumped from the bushes behind us, tackling Henry onto the ground, and standing on him with a proud smirk on her face. Only she would be proud of felling a prettyboy. "Heehee! Hello, my sexy bluenette!"

The said bluenette blinked a few times, watching her intently watching him. His gaze flickered over to me, I shrugged, and his eyes turned back away. "What do you mean?" he questioned to her, his left eyebrow raising up more than the other.

"Do I haveta spell it out for you?" She suddenly grinned her big, famous puppy smirk that she did ever-so well. It was probably because of all of the practice she had with it over her lifetime. "You dat hottie wit dat body!"

As he just stared wide-eyed, I felt my face brightening. Feathers fluttered around in my insides in a realization that made its giddying debut. I was the one with the good-lookin' boy. Sure, I wasn't allowed to admit it to a single soul (unless I wanted to tell Henry), but I wanted to go up to every person in sight and tell them this dreamlike reality.

_He's mine._

Just thinking it made me nearly go off the edge into hysteria with my bubbliness. I couldn't comprehend it, it just seemed too unreal. Someone was gonna have to knock me down sometime soon, 'cause I was feeling way too high.

"Not that," Henry finally said after a thought or two's delay. "What did you mean when you said Takato was good at leaving things behind?" He sat up, which caused Salamon to scowl when she was forced to move from her throne of glory.

"Oh. That." She sighed in deep exasperation, as if the boy was asking far too much from her today. And much to my absolute surprise that she could even do such a thing, she let out a high whistle an owner would use to call his dog. "C'mere, you big oaf!"

Right on cue, Guilmon pretty much managed to appear out of nowhere. He seemed kinda annoyed, and he stated as his partner decided to place herself on a new glorious throne (aka, atop his head), "Takato says it's not nice to call people names." Till this day, I can't get over how awesome that dino's voice is.

Salamon let out an uncaring 'pfft!' in an obnoxious response. "Spare me the moral laws, Big Red. Give us the best of your dirt. Spill it. Cough it up. Fork it over. Bring in the swine for slaughter. Hand—" I cut my canine Digimon off before she could give any more overly-cliché metaphors.

"Sal, I have a challenge for you. See if you can fit your foot into your mouth," I retorted with a flat face that displayed my lack of amusement. I received the due glare from her direction, but ignored it for my wellbeing's benefit, and turned towards Guilmon for my following question. "So whatchya got for us, Guilmon?"

My cousin's red Digimon seemed to check himself for pockets before responding with a puzzled tone, "I don't got anything. I was just busy sleeping when Salamon woke me up and said we had to follow you."

I narrowed my blue eyes at the puppy on Guilmon's head. "You were stalking us? Sal…" About this time, despite the tone of my growl, I was feeling rather thankful that Henry and I had greeted each other that morning with a simple, casual hello, otherwise we would've been already screwed.

"Hey, hey, don't jump to conclusions and get your undies in a wad!" I waited for her to continue, dismissing her wording. "You can't get a restraining order for what I do. Therefore. Not. Stalking." She finished her statement by popping her lips together as if that put an official seal on her words and deemed them true.

As she seemed highly pleased with herself, I couldn't withhold the urge to roll my eyes. I tried to veer my way back on track. We were running out of time. "Guilmon, did Takato say _anything_ about where he was going with Rika? We need to know." I stared hard at his large, yellow eyes, in the back of my mind saying, _An exact address would be _great_…._

He fidgeted, trying to think of a proper response to my question. But it didn't seem like it was coming at all. "Hmm…he said something about… um um… oh, I can't remember!" His clawed hands went up towards his ears and he tossed his head back and forth in frustration, whining like a child and giving Salamon the challenge to hold her place.

"And he wonders why I call him an oaf…" I heard my partner mumble out. The statement itself seemed like she was speaking merely to herself, but knowing her, she spoke loudly on purpose to give out a successful insult. That was only so Salamon-like, obnoxious wasn't a fitting enough word to use.

"Sal…" I grumbled, despite the fact she wouldn't care what way I used her name or in what sort of tone. I knew it as well as she did that she could do much more harm to me than I could do to her. It was a rather frightening reality to live with. For me, at least. "Whatever. Let's just keep looking."

As I stood, a voice carried out from the closest tree. "Ya know, Jeri's just over there." Terriermon dropped down from within the green. "See for yourself." _Really, you too Terriermon? Is it seriously easier to stalk _us_ than _Takato_?_

Apparently Henry had pretty much the same thought I did. He let out a distinct groan, but didn't say anything.

"Are you serious?" I whined, peering down the curve of the path. I watched Jeri sitting on the edge of a large fountain handing a very energized Calumon a creampuff. "Crap! I was hoping she forgot!" The likeliness of her actually doing so was probably pretty close to zero, but I really couldn't help but hope. It didn't seem like we were gonna make the deadline, and at this rate, it was highly probable that she was going to nag me about being stood up for quite a while.

At least it wasn't Rika, otherwise I'd be wearing a big, fat bruise as a hat.

"We still have a little time left; let's keep looking," Henry suggested, even though he must've known by now that it was too late. He looked at Takato's Digimon. "Guilmon, you go look for Renamon. She should know where they went."

The red Digimon grinned with optimism, most likely excited to have his own special part of the search. "Ay-ay!" And scampered away. That guy was always _way_ too happy for it to be normal.

We walked on the opposite way of where Jeri was currently located, and all the while, us humans were forced to put up with Salamon and Terriermon's constant blabbing. It usually would have bored me to the point of just ignoring them, but I was kind of unnerved that they were scheming to do something a little more than catastrophic, because when those two were together, I could only feel so safe. Actually, I didn't feel even remotely safe.

And judging by his face, neither did Henry.

Rounding the next bend, I caught sight of something that really shouldn't have surprised me, but probably did so just for the reason that we finally hit a stroke of good luck. Seeing Rika beating the crap out of Takato—most likely a result of his way with words—was a pretty big relief. And a scene that was really typical.

Not really sure how to approach and take control of the situation, I decided to wing it completely. "Oi, Tomato!" I called out, causing the abuse to stop and earning looks of a certain amount of confusion. "Come hither!" Despite my words, I was the one to go up to him, grab him by the arm, and start pulling him away. "Cous, you need to tell me where you're going before you get there. Do you know just how long it took to find you!"

Apparently, I had caught him too off-guard for him to know how to respond. He just stared at me for what felt like an eternity, when really it was a few moments, until I decided to add, "Okay, you just walk down this path, when you see what you're supposed to see, things'll happen that'll either end very good or very bad. Sooo…mush!" I was quick to shove him in the direction of where Jeri was at.

"Uhh…what?" He blinked a few times at me, and I just stared hard at him, making him groan. "Fine! Just keep walking this way?" His finger pointed down the path and I continued to stare in order to give confirmation.

"Make like a tree and leave!" Salamon retorted, coming up from behind me and shooing Takato—or at least his shins—away. She laughed and turned back to me after she earned another groan from Takato, and he began to walk down the trail. "See what I did there, Rai? It's funny because it's a pun, and puns are funny! Puns about trees are even better!"

The corner of my mouth dropped a little bit as my eyebrow rose while I just watched my partner in slight bafflement. "There is something wrong with you." I glanced up at my cousin's gradually-shrinking figure, frowning at the scene. "You know, I just got the feeling like we sent him off with a death sentence."

"I bet he wakes up with that feeling every morning!" she retorted, snickering. "So are we gonna go eavesdrop on them or what?" Before I could respond either way, she took off towards the fountain, babbling to herself like a homicidal maniac that has an evil scheme. Worst part was that she probably _did_ have an evil scheme. "C'mon, Rai! You claim you run! Prove it!"

It was my turn to let out a groan as I began to pursue. Peering back, I locked eyes with Henry and tossed my arm over my shoulder, gesturing for him to follow suit. I kept pace with Salamon, who clearly had a destination of spying in mind. Sneaking along with her, we took our fort as a little too conveniently-placed bush. Here, peeking through a break in the leaves like a creeper, I could see Jeri greeting Takato and Calumon still eating creampuffs just off to the side.

"What are you doing?" From right behind me, I caught ear of Rika's hoarse whisper. When I glanced back to her, she looked both puzzled and a little annoyed.

I smirked a little when Terriermon answered quickly. "Stalking. What's it look like?" _With a retort like that, no wonder why he gets along so well with Sal. They're like a match made in heaven with the intentions sent from the depths of hell…_

Patting the ground right next to me, I questioned smugly, "Care to take a front seat?" She crossed her arms and stared me down, crossing her legs Indian-style. I assumed that was her refusal. "Uh…okay, guess not. Henry?"

As he sat down next to me to share the peephole through the leaves, I studied the scene before us. I couldn't pick up on most of the words they were saying, but I assumed that was because they weren't really saying much. Takato, for one, appeared rather uncomfortable as he dug the toe of his shoe in the dirt for a reason to not look up.

And Jeri, her face aglow a bright pink, her bottom lip bitten, looked nervous beyond belief. She held a white paper bag in her arms of which I immediately recognized as a pastry bag from the bakery, clutching it like a little kid with her teddy bear. _Is that how scared I looked? Is that how scared everyone gets at these moments?_

Her brilliant brown eyes appeared suddenly anxious as her mouth moved into untranslatable shapes. A deeper red enveloped her face and I caught sight of her fingers and knees shaking. Her head dropped bashfully as her lips continued to move in slow-motion.

I could almost hear his words. Takato's words while he shook his head and kept his gaze cast off to the side. He had stopped digging his shoe in the dirt, and now his body had become still. His mouth was all that moved in those two little syllables, "Sorry."

The bag dropped from her hands. Her head rose to look up his face, contorted like he had hit her. Her whole body grew limp as tears began to well up in her eyes and she only stared at him with a look of complete confusion. I knew her thoughts. What's wrong with me? Why don't you like me? What do I need to change with myself for you to love me?

He reached out his hand to try to comfort her, but she recoiled back as if she thought he was actually going to hurt her. Her eyes burned with anger and hurt. "Just go away, Takato!" she screamed suddenly, startling him. She turned and ran from him.

"Jeri, wait!" He took off after her, his voice splattered with so many emotions. His face was written with so much regret, it hurt to see him. He looked unexpectedly desperate, like he was trying to reach for something that was suddenly out of his grasp.

I felt my own pang of guilt. I had pushed them, trying to force them to each other without considering if the feelings were felt. I never thought of the consequences, how Jeri would react to rejection. Honestly, I didn't know what I expected the outcome to be, because no matter what happened, there would be broken hearts. _I'm sorry, Jeri…_ My teeth punctured my lip as I rose. "But now…" Mumbles fell from my mouth as I tried to think this through. _He can't just push her into forgiving him…_

Taking off running, I yelled out to him, "Takato!" My eyes obediently followed his form, trying to make my feet gain ground. "Takato, stop!" Running down a set of steps, I lost my balance and stumbled down them, biting my tongue from screaming. Pain shot up my back as I picked myself up, forcing myself to go on. I tried to ignore the twinges filling all of my limbs. "Takato!"

He carried on past the park, now running down the sidewalk. He had less than a block on me. "Wait! Takato, please, stop!" I shouted, tripping over my own feet and struggling to retain my balance. My throat burned like hell as I begged him to stop and think about what he was doing. Familiarity ran in me, like déjà vu. _…No… It can't be… _My eyes widened in realization, anxiety bursting within my chest. I knew this scene; I knew this feeling.

I knew this outcome.

"_TAKATO!_"

The horn blaring, the ear-piercing sound of breaks screeching. Jeri screamed his name. My whole body stopped mid-motion and I crumbled down to the ground, my fingers digging into my scalp as tears were pouring down my face. My whole body trembled uncontrollably, my emotions flaring as I wailed, my night horrors crawling around inside my head and cutting my insides up until I was dry-heaving. I was hyperventilating, gasping out one word, "No, no, no, no, no…"


	14. Chapter 13: The Remedy

**Alright so this chapter is kinda a transition between non-plotty stuff and plotty stuff, that's why it's so screwed up. I was originally going to merge it with the next chapter, but honestly, it was giving me such a hard time that I was just like "Screw it, I'm gonna end the chapter right here so I can start on a fresh note in 14", so that's what I did (plus I needed to get this outta the way so I can stop abusing WYWG). **

**I know that I promised the chapters wouldn't skip around so much anymore, but this one kinda does, so I apologize. Getting from Point A to Point B in this particular section was pretty hard and as a result, I just cheated a little bit and put in break lines to eliminate the problem altogether. Gomeeen~!**

**Here is where you get kind of a background as to why the prologue was written as it was, so I guess this chapter isn't completely worthless. Plus there's a bunch of little hints of what may happen in the midst of the plot, if you pay attention to the details.**

**So enough of my babbling. Please don't hate on this chapter too much! The next one will be better, I promise! R&R Please! :)**

* * *

Chapter 13: A Remedy

I remember when I was little, I was involved in a car accident. There weren't very severe injuries outwardly, but inwardly, it affected my state of mind. My night terrors were a result of it, I was terrified of crossing streets without my eyes moving in every direction, and it made me extremely insecure of my life. _How much time will I have left before it's all taken from me? What if something happens if I take this risk?_

It made me so afraid of everything around me, as if in an instant, everything might be ripped away when I wasn't looking. It led me to a fast-paced life, wanting everything done before it was all too late and my chance was gone.

My nightmares would make me lose grip on reality, seeing them in a manner as if they would somehow affect my real life. I repeated the words that they wouldn't, dreams were dreams, no matter the magnitude.

But at this instant, I questioned the words I put all my faith into.

I felt something inside me shatter.

Hysteria grasped his cold, bony fingers around my neck as I wailed illegible words, refusing this reality, demanding a different one. "Just a dream! Just a dream!" I screamed hoarsely, my words like sandpaper in my windpipe. My body shook, tears razors down my face.

I couldn't recognize the feeling that came over me. I gained the sensation that something was pulling me close, but I ripped away. My name echoed in my ears. "Rai! Rai!" and it split my eardrums. My palms went over to cover my ears and I opened my mouth to let out another scream. My own motives were blurred and I acted out of instinct.

"Rai, calm down. It's okay." Warm fingers grasped my wrists and pulled them down to my sides. Arms hugged me unsurely from behind. The form was thin and smelled unfamiliar. The voice was feminine and quiet as it whispered words into my ear in effort to soothe my raging emotions.

One phrase danced on my tongue. "He's gone, he's gone, he's gone…"

I felt the form leave from around me and footsteps tapering. It spoke words to another before I caught the scent of another coming closer. It seemed to smell of bread. "Rai. Rai, it's all right." The voice clicked within my mind and I tried to force myself to think properly, to kick the illusions out.

My lips continued their perpetual murmuring. "_He's gone…_" My psyche was taunting me with memory, pointing a finger and laughing at my weakness of caring. The whispering in my ears was true. It was what I got for letting my heart win. It drove me off the ledge into an abyss of uncertainty and a twisted blur of undistinguishable fantasy and actuality.

"I'm not. I'm not." The one that smelled of bread held me tight, and only then did my eyes wish to witness what delusion had taken hold. They burned when letting the sunlight in and took truthfully the words that had been repeated. _I'm not. I'm not._

My stomach knotted within me. "Ta-Takato." My arms came around him and I refused to let go. I refused to let him be taken from me. I buried my face in his shoulder, churning out more warm, acidic tears. "…How?"

"I believe some thank you's are due me."

I turned my head slightly, my eyes moving more so. A white cat Digimon stood before me. It stood on two legs and its front paws had green gloves. Long ears protruded from its head tipped with purple and its face was set with bright blue eyes and a triangular black nose. A long, slender tail came up behind it, a purple stripe wrapping around it up to a furry tip.

My lower lip shook with incredulity. My mind was rotating around and around too fast, making me dizzy and unable to comprehend, synapses malfunctioning and rendering me helpless to absorbing anything. I kept my eyes involuntarily wide, staring in a daze that really couldn't tell me what I was exactly taking in.

The only think I could do was hold tight onto Takato, pleading to God above to never take him away from me, that this wasn't an illusion to provide me with a false sense of security. I wanted Takato, I _needed_ him. If the so-called merciful Lord was to pull him away from me, I would curse Him and wish death upon myself. I wouldn't let neither time nor space, angels nor demons, Fate nor luck, life nor death, separate us.

I could feel his fingers supporting the back of my head, holding onto me as I was to him. His smell of fresh bread lured my face into his chest and tears flooded from my cheeks. Meanwhile, he kept whispering the same words over to me, trying to bring my nerves back to me, "Everything's all right. Everything's all right. Everything's all right…"

* * *

It didn't dawn on me that I had driven myself into slumber from exhaustion until I found myself opening my sore eyes. My body burned from toes upward and my back screamed with agony, my form arranged sloppily on my bed. The blanket was kicked to the foot of the mattress, I realized, as I numbly turned my head towards the alarm clock. It read some time after three, which caused my eyes to look to the window. It must've been only just over an hour after first drowsing .

I slowly brought myself into a sitting position, putting my face into my palms to try and gather my bearings. Pieces lacked from the mental picture I was trying to put together. I realized I was still wearing the clothes of that day, all but my shoes of which was placed by my bedside and my orange sweatshirt, which had been slipped off of me and hung on a bedpost by its hood. The khaki shorts I was wearing were full of dirt and bloodstains from when I had fallen down the stone steps at the park in my pursuit.

Pushing my cut up legs off the side of the bed and forcing myself up into a standing position, I realized I didn't feel refreshed from my sleep, but I didn't feel overly drained, either. It had been the first sleep in a long while that I hadn't been plagued with nightmares. It was strange, but I didn't resist showering it with my thankfulness. I hadn't had a sound sleep in who knows how long.

My face showed indifference as I shakily made my way to the door, my legs tight and sore like after the first day of sport practices. My fingers fiddled with the handle, and when I managed to open the door, my eyes dropped down to the floor. My mind recalled the white cat sleeping just before my feet. Gatomon.

_Why did Sal Digivolve? She's never gone to Champion before…_

I was careful to step around her sleeping form, but as I stepped down, her eyes snapped open and in an instant, her teeth had sunken into my leg. I winced and tightly threw down my eyelids. _I must've surprised her, is all…_ "G-Gatomon," I choked, feeling a single, little droplet of blood beginning to go down the side of my thigh.

Her gaze shot up to my face and as soon as she realized it was me, her jaw loosened its grip on me and backed away with her long, lavender-tipped ears drooped. We stared at each other with matching expressions of surprise and perplexity, neither one of us moving an inch. Words needn't be said, despite all the questions that continually were running through my head, because it was clear she had just as many. I could see it in her cerulean-hued irises, so many emotions, so many things that I just couldn't recognize. Something seemed…different.

"Rai, you're awake." Takato's voice pulled my head in his direction as he neared. Despite how out of it I felt, I noticed he had changed from his pullover sweatshirt to a hoodie of which was too long in the sleeves for him. He looked between us in a slow motion, taking on a look of silent wondering. "We were wondering just how long you were going to sleep for." I gave him a questioning glance, wishing to go first with my inquiries, but allowing him to proceed. "You slept the night away and all through the night."

Understanding that instead of an hour like I assumed, I had been slept for over twenty-five, catching up on the faulty hours I ran on that were corrupted by night terrors, I turned my eyes back down toward Gatomon, but spoke to my cousin quietly, "What happened yesterday? How are you—?" I stopped mid-question, my head trying turn back to him, but I resisted.

His tone matched what mine had been in volume. "Salamon Digivolved to Gatomon and pushed me out of the way. If she hadn't—" He closed his mouth, knowing that I understood his implication. My partner had saved his life.

I curled my fingers around the hem of my t-shirt, studying Gatomon's figure as she merely watched me do so. My examination brought me to the tip of her tail, where her Power Ring resided. A crack ran through one of the characters of the Digimon language and seemed to change the symbol into a completely different one. I crouched down and traced my finger over the Ring, feeling the cool, golden source of my Digimon's power.

She had saved my cousin. She put herself at risk, all of her wellbeing on the line for his. There were no words to express how I felt. I pulled her into an embrace, confessing into her ear, "Thank you… Thank you… Thank you…" Tears tugged at the corner of my eyes and I held them back, knowing she'd tell me not to cry if I did. I took a breath. "I can't say thank you enough…"

She pushed my arms off of her and stepped away. "Psht, that's obvious," she retorted harshly, giving me a frown as she De-Digivolved back to her Rookie form. I wasn't sure how I was supposed to feel by that remark, but honestly I felt highly hurt by it.

It wasn't like her to say things to wound me, leading me to a conclusion that wasn't how it was intended, but despite this knowledge, the eyes of Takato and I followed her figure as she walked down the hall and out of sight. _Probably just in a mood from being awakened and startled so suddenly. It's my fault she gave me a cold shoulder._

"Takato." His bright, wine-colored eyes snapped into mine at the sound of my voice saying his name. "…How's Jeri?"

His finger scratched at the paint on the wall as I had the day before, keeping his hand busy while trying to think of a proper response. His lips were twisted in a rather dismal way, but his tone seemed slightly more uplifted in comparison. "I think she just needed a little time to cool off. I talked to her this morning 'cause she came by to see you and said she had lots of time and she'll be fine."

A smile of relief didn't have to suppressed on my face because one didn't bother coming. "That's good," I mumbled in response, but in reality, feeling a sickening sensation filling my insides. I thought I was coming close to vomiting, and no matter how many times I tried to swallow it away, it acted as a heavy weight in my throat.

He seemed uncomfortable when he put his hand onto my shoulder and I was certain he felt the way I shifted at his touch. "You don't need to blame yourself for this. She was going to have to learn the truth anyway, one way or another. Better sooner than later."

I didn't like the way he chose his words. A part of them made me feel all-around nauseated with guilt, as if I needed to crush her hopes mercilessly as a part of my duties here that Fate set out for me. I hated that it was me that led her to her breaking point, set her up for imminent pain, taking her by the hand and taking her with me to an abyss of rejection and loneliness. I had been so wrapped up in my own fortune to realize that she might not have the same luck.

"Hey, Chumley, you here?"

I heard the pattering of feet going up the stairs, a rapid _tap tap tap tap _growing louder as the owner of the voice ascended to the second floor where we were. I didn't feel like dealing with certain other people right now, one of these said people being the one growing nearer and nearer, going by that recognized tone. He tempted me to turn tail and go back into my room, but honestly, I was curious to know what he wanted this time.

My cousin groaned quietly. "Yeah, Kazu, we're up here." His eyes narrowed, giving me the impression that he wasn't having a very good day so far. I figured it was probably from talking with Jeri and dealing with her issues.

The brown-haired boy with the visor appeared up the stairs, his little sidekick Kenta in tow, who was panting at Kazu's speed. At the sight of Takato and I merely standing in the hall doing even less than nothing, he put on a crooked expression and whined, "You're not even packed yet! C'mon, Chumley, get your rear in gear!" By how his eyes darted on and then off of me, it was obvious that he was thinking of something that he deemed "charming" to say.

"Yeah, we have a ride to catch!" Kenta agreed, looking at his watch to emphasize their point, whatever that point was.

Takato smacked his head with his hand. "Gah! I totally forgot!" He kind of started going one direction, then decided to go another way, and then another, which made him end up just going around in an awkward circle.

I stood there blinking, not certain what was going on now. "Takato, what-?" Before he could dash off, I latched onto the crook of his arm, bringing him to a sudden halt that put him into a sudden state of confusion. "Where are you going?"

He shuffled his eyes around as he thought of a response to justify his forgetfulness. "Well, I kinda forgot to tell you. A while back we planned on going to Okinawa for a couple days this summer 'cause the Shiodas have a summer house on the beach. Just us Tamers, all…however many of us there are." He scratched his cheek lightly with his index finger, looking a bit embarrassed. "Apparently...today...is the...day...oops."

Kazu took the chance to make his mark. He snatched up my hand in his and beamed. "Cupcake, as a fellow Tamer, you are welcomed to join us! I will help you pack!" He pulled me into my room and gave me this wave of anxiety and a feeling that things were just gonna get a lot worse. I didn't mind going with them as I really needed to get my mind off of recent events, but I really didn't want him to help me pack. That was highly unnecessary.

I frowned and used this opportunity to smack him. "How about you don't?"

* * *

It didn't dawn on me before, but Okinawa Island was one of the southernmost islands of Japan. Originally I thought it was just one of the many districts of Tokyo that a train ride would connect us to, but when the word 'airport' was suddenly weaved in, it all clicked. It wasn't too expensive with our group going as a package deal at least, and with all of the Digimon possible stuffed into our luggage, we saw it fit for a much-needed vacation.

The summer house was a western-style cottage that rested just off of a golden-sanded beach. It was two-story, the entire side facing the sea open glass windows. A boardwalk stretched all around the building and ran down to the water. A few trees dotted the premises and a couple stretched over an area where a fire pit was made and logs squaring it off like benches.

As we took our bags inside, I turned my head to purposely to lock eyes with Jeri. She gave me a light smile, making me decide that I should return one. For a second the connection we had was broken when Kazu exclaimed something illegible and darted between us with his bag held over his head en route to the cottage. Our smiles turned to grins and we added small laughs. _Yeah_, I concluded,_ she's gonna be okay. She's a strong, confident girl. There's no need to worry about her…_

The interior of the summer home was open and spacious, skylights staining the floor with the sun and all of the windows making the view of outside just like the picture off of a postcard. A telescope was near the openness and pointed towards the sky, even though I was certain anyone in their right mind was more likely to go out into nature to see the stars instead. Near the telescope a staircase that wound around a post in a spiral lead up to the second floor, where I could deduct that the bedrooms were to be found by my best judgment. Off just to the right when walking in the door was a simple kitchen and just down the hall from there was the laundry room and a small cleaning closet.

I wasn't sure what to do at this point. I was sure that Salamon was probably suffocating within my suitcase and probably ticked for being shoved in there so suddenly, so I made unpacking my first priority. I went up the steps, of which creaked a little almost every other step, and peered into each of the bedrooms before picking one that had a single window that peered out to the east.

Two beds were neatly made and were on opposite sides of the room, the window in the middle with light, translucent curtains pulled open. A dresser was near each bed foot and a single closet with shelving inside was just right of the door. The floor was wood and in the middle of it was an oval rug. Under the window was a single nightstand with a lamp placed on it.

I chose one of the beds and threw my suitcase onto it. I quickly unzipped it and an irritated Salamon came out, her eyes pointed down into a tight glare. "Thank you for _warning_ me before shoving me in a suitcase," she grumbled, clearly not in a good mood. It was evident she wasn't having the most pleasant of days.

"Sorry," I mumbled back, peering out the window. It overlooked the beach and I spotted Kazu and Takato burying Kenta up to the neck in sand. Opening the window to let the sea breeze in, I could hear the kid's desperate screams for freedom as the other two boys just laughed loudly and went about their business. He just never could catch a break.

I laughed quietly and as I turned around, I yelped. Henry had somehow managed to materialize right behind me without my notice. My surprise made him laugh lightly and smile as I merely scowl in response. From behind us, Salamon snorted, "Bluenette, if only you knew the meaning of half of that yelp…" I heard the sound of her dropping to the floor. "I'll leave you two kids alone. Hint hint, wink wink." _Wow, someone's being inconspicuous with her flat voice._

Shaking my head, I admitted after my partner had left the room, "She's so strange today. But that's no surprise. She's always weird." My eyes aligned with Henry's mercury-hued ones and then flickered quickly away. I still hadn't grown adjusted to looking at him and remembering the reality we were in and just how lucky I had been.

"And you?" he questioned after smiling in agreement with my words. When he spoke, his smile dissipated into an expression that was trying to examine me inside out. His gaze tried to dig past my skin and into my head. "Are you okay?"

I shot my pupils back to the floor, leaning backward to try to put distance between his face and mine, hoping it'd better conceal my feelings. "Yeah. Fine. I just overreacted yesterday." I paused to think of an explanation. "I thought he was dead; don't you think I'd get maybe a _little_ emotional about that?" It took hearing my own tone to realize how hard my words came out. I instantly prayed that I didn't hurt him with my sarcasm.

At this he frowned. I knew I hurt him and so I tried to bring out some sort of redemption. "Don't worry, Henry. I'm fine." Putting on a smile on the outside, I forced myself to shove my emotions back on the inside. I didn't want to see him seeing me bleeding in my effort to get over the effects of those repetitive nightmares coming to life.

He watched me for a few moments longer, trying to scan my face. I thought for sure he could see through my façade; I was trying too hard to smile. If he could see the shimmering of sweat beginning to form under my bangs, it would be all-too obvious. I was terrified about that possibility. He didn't need to be troubled by my issues, those terrors that kept childishly putting me into my place. It was, I concluded, better to keep it to myself.

"What do we have here?"

My eyes darted off of the olive-skinned boy and towards the door. There, I noticed Jeri looking excited us as she saw us and Rika leaning against the doorway looking pleased. They obviously observed the distance between us—or the lack of distance, more accurately. So I said the first thing that came that came to my mind:

"Aww, dang it, Henry! They distracted me and I lost; that's not fair! Written in the Staring Contest Official Rulebook, it clearly says all interferences affecting a contest must call for a rematch."

They all, including Henry, gave me a strange look. I only could come up with something believable so quickly. This kinda fell into that gray area where under normal circumstances it'd be considered stupid, but this was honestly something I would do. Lose a staring contest and come up with an excuse was suitable enough, I figured.

I didn't really feel like being confronted by questions at this point, so I wordlessly excused myself and exited. My fingers grasped the center pole as I went down the corkscrew stairs and proceeded to head outside. The sound of my feet pounding on the boardwalk accompanied me as I ran for the beach. It wasn't far from sunset, but I still wanted to greet the sea before the night took away my chance until tomorrow's light.

The sand was warm and soft between my toes. The smell of salt in the breeze made me open my mouth and take a swallow of the air. I loved the whole essence of the seaside. The aroma, the beach, the waves. Here is where I felt the most at home. There was just something behind it all that drew me to it like a moth to a flame.

"Tomat_ooo_!" I waved my cousin into attention, who was currently giving me the mental image of us at a younger age sitting in the sandbox with plastic shovels and pails, as he was busy constructing a sand castle. The moment he turned away from his work to look at me, Kazu darted past and trampled it all down to the ground.

Takato frowned in discouragement, all his hard work destroyed under the feet of one of his friends. I stared unblinking at the bandage just off of his left eye. I knew there were bandages on his elbows and knees as well, even though I couldn't see them. Despite that he avoided the future my nightmares had predicted, he had still sustained cuts from my partner's move to protect him, just as my partner had sustained that damage to her Power Ring.

Before he could ask what I wanted, I already had begun speaking, "Kazu kinda…killed your castle." _Talk about stating the already-observed…_ Honestly, I had no original reason to call out to him and distract him, but even if I did, it still would've cost him his sandy kingdom.

His frown turned to a scowl at my obvious remark, but that was the least of my thoughts. My eyes remained placed on that bandage on his face. _It's my fault; I did that to him. The whole time I was just trying to give Jeri what she wanted, not even considering the possibility that she might not receive it. Stupid isn't a good enough word to describe what I am._ I, in turn, frowned and turned towards the water. My feet took me to it, close enough that the gentle waves lapped up to my toes.

Looking along the shoreline in one direction, the beach ended about a quarter mile down, giving way to a rocky area raised up from the sand that was covered with verdant trees. In the other direction off in the distance, was a wooden pier. It wasn't as high as most were; moreover like an overly-extended dock that jutted out easily thirty feet from where the water began. Seagulls were currently calling it their resting place, covering the dark wood with white.

"Rai, did you have something you wanted to say?" Takato's voice came from behind me. I didn't want to hear it right now. I could see him out of the corner of my eye, looking curious and ever-so innocent. He didn't know just how at fault I felt about the pain he must've been in; I could see that with the pure designs weaved in his bright eyes.

I again forced myself to put on a smile. A chuckle was squeezed out as I responded, "I just wanted to say I'm really glad I came. Thanks, Takato." My head tossed towards Kazu, who was currently in the process of mocking Kenta for still being stuck in the sand. "And, Kazu. Thanks."

That snapped him into attention. He pumped his fist. "YES! Acknowledgement from my Cupcake!"

Kenta took the fact we were now ignoring him completely as rather insulting. The only one paying him any mind was MarineAngemon just watching him with perplexity. "Okay, is _no one_ going to help me out?" he whined with a high voice. "I got sand in my pants!"

A Matsuki-style grin seemed to be fitting at this point, so I threw one on, realizing it was getting progressively easier to alter my expressions despite my current state of mind. Maybe I could spend my time like this and no one would catch on. I couldn't be certain of everyone's observations, but I could only be so careless.

Kazu obviously ignored his sidekick's pleas and complaints, as he took the moments after my expressing of gratitude as the key opportunity to do pull something for just about the twentieth time today. He put an arm up across my back and curled his fingers over my shoulder. "So now that we've bonded on a new level—" _Saying thanks isn't bonding, you moron._ "—how about a swim?"

I glanced at the water, its waves still coming up to my feet. It was still warm from the rays of the bright sun prior. The thought that maybe it'd help relieve my nerves to do things to get my mind off of everything came, and I tossed it around for a few moments.

Deciding, I headed back to the cottage. The Digimon clearly had the run of the place already, several of them plopped on the couch and others raiding the cabinets for a snack. I figured I'd be better off ignoring them, so I went upstairs and to the room I had put my suitcase, the room I'd be sharing with Jeri and Rika as decided earlier. As I passed by the doors to the other bedrooms, only one had the door slightly ajar, light flooding out through a vertical crack. I suddenly stopped mid-step and listened.

Silence.

It was strange. I had thought for sure that I heard something just mere moments ago. The chances were well-rounded, so I dismissed it and continued to my bedroom. When I walked in, I saw neither Rika nor Jeri present, but their luggage placed neatly on the floor out of the way, differentiating from mine in that it was still on the bed open. It made the process of things easier and I was quick to begin searching for the swimsuit I brought. It had been a simple blue one-piece with a white stripe crossing the chest diagonally from shoulder to opposite hip.

"What the—?" I furrowed my brows and continued searching when it wasn't where I thought it was. "C'mon…" I began to take clothes out to help the process of locating it along. It was growing increasingly strange when it wasn't there. "I know I put it in here…" My eyes grew wide and twisted into a look of disbelief at the sight that my eyes had just captured. "She _didn't_…" A glare formed. "I'm gonna kill her…"

I wasn't pleased, but I put it on. That stupid little bikini that Jeri must've switched my suit with. It wasn't skimpy, but it wasn't something I'd pick out, that was for certain. It was one of those that tied around the torso and around the neck for the top piece, and for the bottom, tied into little bows at the hips. Ironically, the color scheme was the exact same as my original suit. _I really don't like her sense of humor…_

Just putting it on made my face brighten a deep red, and looking down at myself made it even deeper. I wasn't sure what drove Jeri to even _consider_ the idea I could pull off a bikini, because if she hadn't noticed, I was more of a tomboy than a girly girl and so it just looked awkward to me. And because of this, I left the bedroom in slow motion, trying to get used to the idea that I was actually wearing what I had on.

The feeling that I should be creeping down the hall took over for whatever reason and I was moving across the hall on my toes. Passing the one room with the ajar door, I knew for certain I heard something. It got the best of me and I pushed the door open.

…Only to see Jeri pinning Henry down on the floor and Rika just watching with the smallest of smirks. Wow.

Around this point, Jeri was demanding answers out of the bluenette, looking like she was about to try to beat the crap out of him at any given moment (or at least more so than how much she apparently had), "Tell me! What were you and Rai doing?" But then she noticed me standing there in the doorway with my jaw dropped a little bit and instantly brightened up into a big fat smirk, "Yes, you found the swimsuit I got you!" She forced the poor boy to look at me. "Nosebleed, Henry, nosebleed!"

I narrowed my eyes at the brown-haired girl. "This isn't anime," I noted with a disbelieving expression that she'd actually exclaim something like that. And hoping that she wouldn't go on, I decided to avert to the thing on my mind, my voice filled with more curiosity than concern, "What are you doing to him?"

She seemed way too pleased that I had asked. "_Wellll…._"

Apparently I had a weird look on my face or something because Rika cut in to explain in a rather nonchalant manner, of which I preferred over Jeri's hyperactiveness that was just about to get someone killed. That someone probably being the poor sap known as Henry. "Jeri thought you two were too close together earlier to be normal and decided to torture answers out of him."

Now that just sounded outrageous. …Which unfortunately for my boy meant it was true.

I crossed my arms, unimpressed with the reasoning that the little brunette girl concocted as an excuse to beat up Henry. To respond to Rika's explanation, I ticked off my fingers with each point I made, directing my words to Jeri, "One, there's nothing behind how close we _happened_ to be, and two, uh…abusive much?"

Pinching the bridge of my nose between my eyes, I quickly corrected myself, "Never mind." But then an idea came to me, something that would keep Jeri's mind out of my and Henry's personal lives, intertwined or not. "Hey, we should cook out tonight. I saw a fire pit just out the back." A cheesy grin took over. "I'm not the best cook in the world, so I'll leave it up to you guys. Chao!" And took my leave back to the beach.

The sand felt amazing under my feet, the impact of landing upon it initially burning, but the sensation was addictive. I quickly noticed the guys I had previously abandoned still up to their immature games that I felt a need to get in on (although still no one bothered to get Kenta unstuck), Kazu chasing Takato with a long piece of driftwood ready to beat him.

I knew just what to do.

"Tamat_ooo_!"

At the sound of my voice calling to him, he stopped short, I took this opportunity and leapt onto his back. "Kazu, get 'im!" But before my stalker could comply, Takato managed to lose his balance and made us both topple into the water. "Takato, you're not supposed to fall!"

He began to give his excuse while shaking the water from his hair. "It's not my fa—"

I cut him off, pushing his head underwater and exclaiming, "Submarine game!"

* * *

**Okay, in case anyone hasn't ever heard of the submarine game before. It's a pool game where you hold someone's head down and count for how long they can hold their breath. But in this case...well, Rai's doing it to be a little meanie to her cousin. I can't begin to count how many times that's happened to me. x_x**

**Also, double-checking my information I came to realize that Takato's cousin Kai also lives in Okinawa (of course I remembered that _after_ getting done with the part), so...just ignore that fact. It's a pretty big island, so let's just say he lives waaay off! *shot'd* **

**Thanks for reading, my loves! :3**


	15. Chapter 14: Break My Fall

**Finally done with this chapter! This is the turning point of the whole fic that I've been waiting for since the fic's start! I had some trouble putting some length on the chapter, but I think the whole concept that's in here kinda makes up for it. This is where part 1 ends and part 2 begins!  
**

**So... uh, I don't own the song that's mentioned in here, it belongs to Jake Owen, and that being said... Enjoy and R&R please, my loves!  
**

* * *

Chapter 14: Break My Fall

The sky turned to a carroty-hued canvas, dotted with wispy off-white clouds. The setting sun was an orb colored like rust. I watched its reflection in the crystalline sea as I lied on the beach, the waves lapping gently just up to my ankles. The guys had long-since turned in, leaving me to my thoughts. I was fine with being alone; I needed the time to ponder anyway. So much had happened and my mind really couldn't put it all together properly. A mental recap was gonna do me some good, I knew, since all of this was getting to me and adding up to be all too much.

I put my hands under my head and stared upwards. _I can't believe I was the one to almost get Takato killed when I was so worried about it and was trying to prevent it. I feel like such a traitor to him, to myself…_ Biting my lip, I kept on in my thoughts. _And there I was, having a pity party because my nightmare came true and I just gave up on him, leaving Sal to try to save him instead… God, I've gotta be in the runnings to be the worst person in existence. I wish I wouldn't have tried to mess with his personal affairs, then maybe I wouldn't feel so bad now. Jeri is so good at putting on a smile, but I'm sure she still hurts. And it's only because I thought he really liked her—I was so convinced and didn't even think about the consequences if he didn't…_

Jeri's face appeared in my mind, that same expression she made when she confronted Takato, that expression that looked as though he had physically hurt her. Except this time she was staring at me, like I was the one that was harming her. _Through it all, it really was me that did it. I was the one that set it all up—I deserve that look…_

Joining her face, I saw Takato's. A blaming face that I wasn't used to him possessing, a mask that concealed sadness for my betrayal, for letting him face his Fate alone. My gaze focused on that bandage on the side of his face, staring it down as if I was waiting for it to change into something else or the gash under it to sporadically heal itself. _Why am I causing him so much pain? What is happening to me that I've become so selfish?_

"Hey, Rai!"

I came out of my personal thoughts and pulled myself into a sitting position. I turned my head back towards the cottage to see Jeri waving to me and smiling. "Rai, come on over!" she called, excitement fresh in her tone. At least she _sounded_ okay…

Getting to my feet, I headed over to her, questioning, "Yeah? What is it, Jeri?" I noticed she was wearing a little, pale yellow sun dress, something light that complimented her thin form, and simple flip flops. Yeah, she seemed like a flip flop kind of girl, I decided.

"Can you start a fire in the pit?" It took a second for it to actually click as to what she was talking about, since I was kinda having an off-day, but when I nodded in compliance, she handed me a box of matches, thanked me, and then ran back inside. She was clearly fired up for this (unintentional pun regarding cooking over a fire).

I decided to change back into my clothes before starting the fire, for the fact that mosquitoes love to eat me alive, but after doing so, I went back out. Approaching the fire ring, it reminded me of the summers of my childhood when my parents would take me camping. We'd go to sites much like this one and spend the time just talking around the campfire. I didn't think today would be much different, and that aspect appealed to me. It felt like forever since I got to act like a normal kid.

I set up hard wood to lean up against each other in a pyramid-like shape with openings for air and inside of it put a mixture of kindling wood and dry leaves, arranging the kindling on top so that the leaves wouldn't flare up and then just go out, but instead catch on the kindling and hold a flame until the thicker wood could begin to ignite.

I flicked a match alight, but just as I was about to light the leaves, the whole pyramid collapsed on itself. Glaring at the once-masterpiece, I proceeded to blow out the match and start again, grumbling about my luck. I wasn't having the best afternoon of my life. "Stupid stupid stupid…" I scoffed, not sure if I was pointing my words to the uncooperative fire or myself. The latter was probably a more reasonable guess.

"Insulting it won't do anything."

The voice from behind me startled me and caused me to spill the box of matches on the ground. A hard cuss slipped out before I began picking them up and returning them. "You coulda warned me before you snuck up behind me, Sal," I grumbled, now not caring that I grabbed handfuls of dirt along with the matches and put them into the box. "It's kinda rude, you know."

My Digimon walked up to examine the fire pit, a look on her face that said my once-ready pile of wood was the stupidest thing she's ever seen. It didn't bother me until she turned her head and was now giving me that same look. "I really don't care, Rai." _What is up with her tone? It doesn't sound like she's having a very good day. That makes two of us, at least._ "I have better things to do than worry about courtesy." And with that, walked off.

My eyes followed her until she was out of sight. "Okay, that was strange…" My mind replayed her attitude to make sure what I was thinking of was exactly what really happened while I started putting the wood back into place. It decided to cooperate with me this time and I was quick to get it lighted. "Thank. You. Jesus."

The timing I had was pretty accurate, as mere moments after I had a well-developed flame, the others came out with hot dogs on roasting rods and plates and hot dog buns and bags of marshmallows and all sorts of things that I was used to seeing at a campsite. At least they didn't see me getting mad at an inanimate object. Or more accurately, multiple inanimate objects.

We all sat down on the logs that acted as benches that surrounded the fire (Kazu insisting that he sat next to me) and began cooking supper. Chatter rang about all around me, but I didn't really want to partake of it, so just stared hard at the hot dog attached to the end of the roasting rod in my hands like I was expecting it to jump off and run away or something. I didn't know what was driving me to be Miss Antisocial, but I just really didn't want to talk.

And this came with a price. My intense stare at something that wasn't human caused at least one person to notice. I felt his eyes on me, watching for me to do something that would show normality; I could picture his eyes. His eyes like mercury holding still while trying to put me together like a complex jigsaw puzzle while still trying to appear like he wasn't even looking at me at all. Or at least I hoped he was trying to be a little less than obvious that he was gazing at me.

The color of my face began to deepen just imagining what his face must've looked like. So much so, actually, that I began to fidget under the mental image I had of his expression. My eyes trailed up and down the roasting rod like a shot, hoping that desperately no one saw me getting so hot under the collar. Maybe it was the paranoia, maybe it was just the fact that I really didn't take Henry looking at me with absolute level-headedness, but something made me jump to my feet and remark frantically without a single thought, "We should sing a campfire song!"

And now was about the time when I realized that Henry really _hadn't_ been looking at me.

But now he was. They _all_ were. With wide, confused eyes.

I quickly sat back down feeling more flustered than before while catching ear of Kazu going, "Heh heh!" from beside me and then saying, "Well, then it's a good thing that I brought this, then!" And from behind the log, grabbed an acoustic guitar. Who would've thought he of all people knew how to play guitar? And as he strummed a few chords, we found out that he was actually kinda _good._ _Wow…just…wow. This is so surprising that it just can't be real._

"Let's see you actually play something," Rika snorted, her amethyst eyes reflecting the fire as she gave a smug expression to the boy across from her. She crossed her arms and patiently waited for a response, either vocally or musically.

At her words, Kazu gave her a toothy grin. "Oh, Rika. Always expecting the worst of me. In fact I learned this song just for Cupcake!" I inched away, just in case he tried to pull me close or something. But instead, he put his hands into place, on the fret board and other on the strings at the body. As soon as he began to play (an unusually good sound came from the guitar, despite who the player was), my ears picked up at the tune and I recognized the song.

_He didn't._

For whatever reason, he then suddenly stopped and looked around at everyone. "That's where you guys come in…Stop giving me those looks! I'm good at a lotta things!"

I had practically forgotten the Digimon were here until Terriermon piped up at a chance to insult him. "You don't show it very often!" He began to laugh at his own joke while grabbing Henry's roasting rod and eating the hot dog right off the end of it. Taking chunk after chunk of it, he noticed Kazu's glare that was directed to him and he just simply answered, "Momentai!"

"C'mon, I wanna sing!" Guilmon interjected, seeming like he was actually looking forward to my dumb suggestion of a campfire song, which I wasn't really sure why I suggested anymore. That is, if I ever had a reason to begin with. That seemed to be the most likely statement.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Salamon perched up in a tree, staring down at us. I wasn't sure how she got up there, but I knew by the glint of her round, blue eyes that shone down from the darkness that it was her, apparently wishing not to take part in anything we were up to. I shrugged, figuring that she really didn't want to sing to a song that _Kazu_ was playing. But really, I couldn't blame her at all for that.

And before I knew it, apparently we started the song:

"_A full moon shinin' bright. Edge of the water, we were feelin' all right. Back down a country road the girls were always hot and the beer is ice cold._

"_Cadillac horns on the hood. My buddy Frankie had his dad hook him up good. Girls smile when we roll by; they hop in the back and we cruise to the riverside._

"_Whoa-oh, never gonna grow up. Whoa-oh, never gonna slow down. Whoa-oh, we were shinin' like lighters in the dark in the middle of a rock show. Whoa-oh, we were doin' it right. Whoa-oh, we were comin' alive. Whoa-oh, yeah, caught up in a Southern summer, a barefoot blue jean night._

"_Blue eyes and auburn hair sittin' lookin' pretty by the fire in a lawn chair. New to town and new to me. Her ruby red lips were sippin' on sweet tea. Shot me in love like a shooting star, so I grabbed a beer and my ol' guitar. Then we sat around till the break of dawn, howlin' and singin' our favorite songs._

"_Whoa-oh, never gonna grow up. Whoa-oh, never gonna slow down. Whoa-oh, we were shinin' like lighters in the dark in the middle of a rock show. Whoa-oh, we were doin' it right. Whoa-oh, we were comin' alive. Whoa-oh, yeah, caught up in a Southern summer, a barefoot blue jean night._

"_Whoa-on, never gonna grow up. Ha! Never gonna slow down. We were shinin' like lighters in the dark in the middle of a rock show. Whoa-oh, we were doin' it right. Whoa-oh, we were comin' alive. Whoa-oh, yeah, caught up in a Southern summer, a barefoot blue jean night._

_Whoa-oh, barefoot, blue jean night. Whoa-oh, a barefoot blue jean night. Whoa-oh, barefoot blue jean night. A barefoot, blue jean night. It's a barefoot, blue jean night. Barefoot, blue jean night…"_

_Well, that was…uh, interesting…_ My eyebrows twitched. That hadn't been the best singsong I had ever heard. Mostly everyone didn't know all of the lyrics so voices and volumes were constantly fluctuating, but it seemed that only I knew all of the words, so I felt overly awkward as my voice being the only constant sound.

"And now we eat hot dogs! Nummy!" Calumon began snatching everyone's roasting sticks and eating all of the hot dogs one by one. We all were going to get up and try to get them back from the crème puff, but Salamon jumped down from the tree and beat us to the punch.

Her tone didn't match the situation. "Give me some." It was too serious, too un-Salamon to seem real. And she seemed way too impatient, even for how she normally acted when hungry. "Now, Pipsqueak!"

As soon as I saw Calumon's scared look, I knew I had to step up. "What is up with you today, Sal? Be nice to him; we can cook more hot dogs and you'll get your share!" As soon as the words came from my mouth, I had a distinct feeling that this just wasn't about getting her share of meals, that there was something more.

I didn't expect her face to come off this sharp; it struck me a little sharply. She met my solemn face with fiery-hued eyes. _What is—?_ "You don't know anything, Rai! I can't believe I'm stuck with you of all people as a partner—you're so self-centered!"

That one hurt. I couldn't explain how much it hurt, coming from the very one that I called my best friend. I froze with an open mouth, trying to figure out why she was acting this way._ Me? Do I really act like that and I just never noticed?_ "Sal, I—" My own breath choked me. "I-I just…" I began to approach her, but each step made her expression morph more and more into something severely different than that of my partner.

"Don't act like you're sorry," she snarled, showing her canine teeth to me, but all I could look at were her razor-sharp eyes that were cutting right through me. "You're never sorry, otherwise, you wouldn't be making the same mistake you've always made!" She took a step back, trying to put distance between us.

"Salamon, I don't understand! Please, tell me what I'm doing wrong! I don't know why you're acting like this!" I went to my knees, hoping she could see my pleading look that was written about me. _Please, Sal. I don't want you mad at me. Tell me what I should fix that will make you happy again…_

"It's too late, Rai." She became enveloped with a shadowy aura that consumed her whole body like a raging fire. "Salamon Dark Digivolve to…" She grew taller, taking on the same figure as Gatomon, but her fur was colored with blacks and purple, and her eyes were a vibrant yellow. The Power Ring on her tail was dark and shiny like onyx. "BlackGatomon!"

I felt all of the natural color leave my face in a single instant. "Bl-Black…Gato…mon…" My body began to tremble without my consent. "Please, Sal…"

When I began to reach out for her, my last effort for her to listen to me, her fur stood on end and she hissed at me. She hissed at _me_… With a movement that I could hardly detect, she slashed at me with her claws, ripping open the skin on my arm that was outstretched toward her. And walking away, fading into the darkness, she turned back to me. Her yellow eyes haunted me as she scoffed, "Just go to hell, Shirai."

My vision didn't move from where she disappeared, but my hand went up to hold the cut on my arm. There was silence all around me—or at least I thought so. I couldn't hear everyone's voices talking from every angle. Her last words to me repeatedly echoed from within my mind, each time hurting more and more: _Just go to hell, Shirai. Just go to hell, Shirai. Just go to hell, Shirai…_

One thing that stuck in my mind was what she called me. She called me Shirai. _Shirai_. She never called me that before. It was always just Rai. She was saying we were like mere acquaintances. Like we were no longer friends.

"Rika." My eyes shot up at the sound of the redhead's majestic Digimon, Renamon, phasing in from nothingness. Her eyes were like ice as she gazed at her Tamer. I saw her eyes shift to me for a split-second. "It was the Power Ring. The crack in her Ring changed one of the characters engraved on it, from Purity to Corruption. That's what caused the transformation."

I stopped breathing and my fingers dug into the dirt. _Then this is my fault…_ I gulped back everything that threatened to come forth. _Just that innocent-looking flaw in her Power Ring created _her_. All because it made the character appear different from the outside, it made her different on the inside. And it took over…_

Run. That was all I could do. The sand kept slipping from under me, but I didn't dare slow. I didn't want the others to see the tears forming and threatening to fall. They didn't have to deal with someone that butted on their vacation and just ruined their happiness. If Salamon, my own _partner_, didn't need me, then it was obvious no one else did. I just screwed everything up. _I'm not good for anything except making everyone I love suffer…_

The pattering of my feet hitting wood reverberated hard in my ears as I ran on the pier. I stopped just at the edge, staring at the horizon and the moon reflecting on the waves. My eyes didn't leave the scene until I had unclasped my D-Arc from my belt loop. I glared at my face in the screen that was glaring back at me and tightened my fingers around the cold, metal device. "I don't deserve the title of Tamer. I didn't save the world from D-Reaper, I didn't even ever go into battle! Some _Tamer_ I am—I turned my own Digimon evil! I give up!"

I couldn't look at anything but the darkness under my eyelids as I extended my arm backwards to throw my Digivice out into the water. Just as I was about to cast it into the deep, dark abyss of blue, my wrist was gripped and stopped my motion. My gaze shot back and my voice came out cold, "Let me go, Rika!"

Her purple eyes met my blue ones, an emotion I could hardly distinguish as compassion weaved within them. "I won't, Rai. Not until you tell me just what you're thinking," she retaliated, only grasping my arm tighter. She didn't even seem to care that she was staining her fingers with the blood from the gash my ex-partner had given me.

I turned my head away; I refused to let her see me cry. My voice revealed that I was by how it cracked. "It's my fault, Rika. I did this to her…" I felt her angry expression that was pressing upon me change and dissipate. "If I hadn't just given up on Takato and let her get hurt, her Power Ring wouldn't have gotten damaged. It was only because I was caught up in my own illusions that she became like this…" I peered back at my D-Arc and it glinted under the moon as if trying to remind me of my own, stupid reality. I couldn't hide my tears anymore and they began down my face like razors. "I'm not cut out to be a Tamer! If only someone else had been chosen, then none of this would've happened! Why did Fate pick me? It must've been a mistake; I can't do thi—!"

I was cut from my words with a burning slap to the face. Rika gave me a hard expression, dropping both of her hands to her sides, and I just stared back at her with wide, tear-stained orbs. In one single moment, the girl that matched me in age suddenly seemed just so much older. "Buck up, Rai! You can't just stand around and feel sorry for yourself like there's nothing you can do! You're a Tamer whether you believe you were meant to be one or not, so you better start acting like one!"

My fingers made their way up to my face where my cheek burned like hellfire. "But—!"

She didn't let a single excuse escape my lips. Her voice stung even though I wasn't sure that was her intention through it all. "Sure, maybe you screwed up, but doesn't everyone do that? Make up for your mistake and get her back!"

I couldn't take it anymore. I fell to my hands and knees, beginning to sob uncontrollably. "She's my best friend, Rika! I just blindly ignored her when I should've known something was wrong with her! How much of a Tamer—no, how much of a _friend_ does that make me?"

That set her off. She grabbed the collar of my shirt and pulled me up to my feet to pierce me with her livid gaze. "You say she's your best friend, but you're just gonna give up on her? Some friend! You can't just fall apart after one screw-up and go home; what does _that_ say about you? You have to go after Salamon because she's your friend, and I know for a fact that she'd do the same for you! You're partners for a distinct, set reason, and nothing can change that! As partners you hold a special bond and I know you can feel it! Fight to keep that bond alive!"

I saw my reflection in her deep, violet irises, appearing shaken and twisted with a blend of so many emotions. It echoed how I was on the inside. The headstrong girl before me had stirred all my feelings from within me. "I…" My voice failed me before my words could come through my lips.

From behind the redhead, I saw the other Tamers approaching, my cousin a stride ahead of the others, his face distraught. We locked eyes and instantly I knew he saw just how negativity-ridden I was. He opened his mouth to speak, but then no sounds came out, so he closed it again. We continued to hold gaze, transmitting words back and forth between us.

Rika released my collar, and I pursed my lips into a solid line. I rubbed my eyes to prevent anyone else from knowing just how much I had cried. If I couldn't truly be strong, then I'd at least pretend to be.

My body went rigid when Kazu approached and put one arm horizontally along my back to pull me up to him. "I'll always be here for you, Cupcake." I didn't want to admit it, but I was kinda touched by his words. "And apparently…they will too."

I looked at each of the Tamers and their Digimon around me. _Are they really gonna support me? Even though I've created such a mess…? Are they really gonna do this just for me? I've made a mistake that I'm not even sure I can fix…_ My gaze transfixed on Henry, who noticed me looking at him, and gave me a smile that said, 'We can do this.'

Nodding, I peeped out, "Thanks, guys."

Without any warning, my D-Arc began to glow a bright white light through the screen. It pivoted my arm like giving a silent order and it pointed off the end of the pier. Water just below it began to react and seemed to bubble, emanating with an identical light that came from the deep. Everyone else's Digivices began to beep repeatedly and glancing at Kazu's, which he pulled out at the sound, a little red arrow appearing on the screen and pointing to the water.

I wasn't sure who spoke, but I understood the words like crystal. "It's a Digital Portal."

It came to me in an instant like a hidden instinct that had been suddenly awakened. _It's the only place she would've gone…_ I shrugged out of Kazu's hold and using my D-Arc like a beacon, dove straight into the whiteness.


	16. Chapter 15: The Distance

**A/N: Kyaaa~! Finally finished! It's taken me about 5 months, but I did it! I'm rather pleased with how this one turned out too. Gomen about the huuuuge delay, but I've had sooo much homework and crap, plus I didn't have much of this even planned out, but it's here now, so worry not! For all those people that thought I had given up on this, you have been mistaken and you should've been checking my blog, as I stated I've been trying to work on this. But that's okay!**

**Annnyway, this is about the stage where Rai goes through a lot of emotional stuff, therefore, she'll act extremely irrational and sporadic at times, showing her mind is somewhere other than in the present. Hope that covers all of the different emotions she shows in this, because I really can't think of any other way to put it. Also, there's a reference to the canon**** about Henry**** where they're in the data field-thingy, and then there's a bit of symbolism in Rai's monologue all over the place, so keep an eye out for all of that stuff.  
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**And now, that said, without further ado, here's chapter 15, which took me half of forever! Enjoy, loves! :)  
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Chapter 15: The Distance

I didn't feel the water hit me when I dove into it. To be honest, I didn't know what I was feeling. My body went numb at the moment that I thought I should've felt the impact of the water's surface. My D-Arc had beaconed the path, but once it touched the waves, I knew I'd hit the surface, and closed my eyes. When I decided that I was safe enough, I opened them and looked around to see a world hued in deep blue. Strange, glowing characters floated about all around, and on my closer inspection, I realized they were characters you'd see on a keyboard like brackets and asterisks and symbols as in mathematics.

"Hey, anyone remember when Henry almost got hit in the mouth by a question mark last time we were here?" Kazu snorted, making me suddenly realize that they had followed me. My mind hadn't considered that even though they had told me they were going to be with me, that they would come here with me, and so even though it surprised me, I felt touched.

"Heh heh, yeah, that was funny. It practically attacked him!" Kenta agreed in between snickers, making the bluenette groan in annoyance at the subtle reminder. If I hadn't been pretty much blinded by the shimmering characters and the ever-changing light, I would've turned my head aside to look at his expression.

I rubbed my eyes, trying to make them adjust to the lighting, but failing miserably. My feet stopped moving and my gaze dropping down to my shoes, blinking like crazy. "So exactly what is this place?" I questioned, attempting to cease the burning in my eyes, "It looks nothing like the Digital World from the show."

"This is a data field. It's a sort of in-between world that separates the real world from the Digital World. It's full of information that changes constantly and affects the space around us." I heard Henry's voice drawing closer, making my blood pulsate through me at double-pace just knowing he was approaching me.

Even my shoes seemed to be growing brighter in this place. My head was beginning to hurt from the intensity. "But does it have to be so bright?"

I wasn't certain what was happening until my vision turned a shade of green. My fingers went up and touched what I found to be green-lensed glasses, Lennon-style by how round they were. Instantly my eyes stopped burning and I was able to turn my head back to see none other than Henry; he gave me a small smile and I mouthed him a thanks. That sweet boy's kindness brought me a lurch in my chest.

With the shades curing my sight ailment, I was able to look down. There was just blueness as far as I could see. "Okay, so I have another question. Why aren't we falling? 'Cause down is clearly that way." I pointed in the direction of my shoes and instantly saw everyone's expressions change to something that seemed to look like panic. _Yeah, I must've said something horribly, horribly wrong…_

As soon as we started plummeting, I knew it was affirmative: I had screwed us all.

Did this world rest above the Digital World? I wasn't sure, but for the fact that we were falling out of it and passing through clouds, growing closer and closer to solid land below us wasn't very comforting, no matter how you looked at it. So at this point, screaming just seemed like the best thing to do.

…Until we hit the ground.

"Oh God, please tell me that wasn't my back that just made that snapping nose…" I moaned more or less to myself, pretty much afraid to open my eyes. I rolled over onto my stomach and shuffled my shoulders around in little circles to check for any notable damage. "Uh, guys, how are we not…you know…dead?"

Rika was the one that decided to answer me, her voice rather flat in doing so, "The same way the DigiDestined didn't die all those times in the show: Simple Digital World physics that happen to make no sense." _Huh, that sounds easy enough; I'll accept that._

My response received, I decided that it wasn't a horrible idea to open my eyes, so I pushed myself onto my knees and did so. Immediately a verdant area met me, vibrant, lively grass spreading out all around me and off to the right was an immense forest. It didn't seem too much different than the real world overall, and that fact right there made a huge sense of relief wash over me to which I let out a big, loud sigh, sliding Henry's shades up into my bangs to see the real colors of the Digital World.

"Hey, you know, this place is a lot better than the desert we landed in the first time," Takato stated, as if this whole concept was nothing out of the ordinary. Even for having been here one other time, I didn't think he should've sounded this easy.

I thought about giving a rather sarcastic remark in reply, but decided against it. Instead I pulled myself up onto my feet and looked up, instantly eyeing up a gigantic spacial body floating too close to comfort, electric blue streams encircling all around it. I put my hands defensively, as if that would do anything if it decided to crash down upon us all. "Holy crap, what is that?!"

"That's the earth, Rai. Good eye." I turned and saw my cousin giving me a look like I was the idiot here (enforced by his oh-so supportive words), to which I returned narrowed eyes. I wasn't going to reject his words, as upon closer inspection, I began to make out the continents upon the surface, and realized he was right. I wasn't sure how, but apparently diving into water _on_ Earth put us somewhere _off_ Earth. Now that was logic in all its radiant beauty.

I crossed my arms and showed him a pout that accompanied my whine-toned words, "Be quiet, Tomato." As I turned my head aside, Henry's sunglasses slipped down into my eyes again, sending me back into my warm, happy tangent. I thought for sure I could smell his scent on the glasses, but realized that would be stupid and highly unlikely. I liked to think I could smell him though. _Maybe I'll hold onto these for a while. I'm sure he won't mind…_

A smile went onto my face and I turned a single eye in his direction. He was currently discussing something to the rest of the group, but I had missed all of it, so I figured that since he was much too smart for me, if I started listening then, it wouldn't make any more sense to me than it would've if I had listened from the start. So instead, my eyes flickered over to the right where that forest was located. My mind wandered, and eventually so did my feet.

As the forest began to consume me from every direction, I took in everything I could. Never before had I seen a place so beautiful, so bursting with color and life. It almost put a smile on my face because it was like a dream. I was here. I was in _the_ Digital World. Ever since the show first aired when I was younger, I had a strong desire to somehow come here. My common sense had always disregarded the idea, but when Salamon had entered my life, the possibility just seemed ever-so real.

_Sal…_

I frowned and my teeth pinched my bottom lip. My adrenaline was getting the best of me; I couldn't forget the reason why I was here, but at the same time, I wouldn't be any use if I was some sort of basket case. My friends were here to help me, yet that was no reason for my own morale to suffer as I bathed in my own self-pity.

My confidence rose up slightly at my latest thought. I wasn't alone here.

…Or maybe I was.

"Crap!" Somehow, in the midst of my thoughts and mindless wanderings, I had managed to get myself lost. I wished I could've said I saw this coming, but that part of me that wanted to say that was too caught up with calling the other part of me stupid, which was pretty much truer than me predicting all of this happening. "Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap!"

How the heck I managed to get lost within five measly minutes of being in the Digital World was an eternal mystery to me. And as if violence would help me solve this mystery, I began to smack myself in the head and pace around and around in dizzying circles until I collapsed on the forest floor. I stared up at a break in the leaves above me, the sky spinning around in the green tint of Henry's shades. Either it was the sky spinning or it was me spinning; which one it was, I wasn't certain.

I pressed my fingers to my forehead, trying to get everything to just stop moving, and squeezed my eyes shut. Focusing on the world all around me, I took in how soft the grass under me was and how fresh the air was. Before coming here, I realized, I hadn't known what real air was supposed to taste like. The sounds were soothing. Wind through the leaves of the full, verdant trees, the sounds of little forest Digimon going about their business and whatnot, the sound of footsteps drawing nearer—

My eyes snapped open with a small gasp of my breath. It returned to me quickly when I had realized the one I had heard approaching was one very special bluenette, who was now standing over me with a look of slight confusion. "What are you doing?" he questioned, his voice filled with a bit of amusement.

I chuckled, even though his question wasn't at all meant for humor. Something about this place just made me very aloof. I waggled my finger in a way to gesture him down to me as I told him slyly, "Come closer." Another chuckle escaped at my wording. I amused myself highly.

That look that once had shown a little confusion grew a bit more vexed as he placed himself down near my head. I took this moment to reach up, grab the collar of his shirt, and pull him down to make his mouth meet mine. I didn't ask for entry; my tongue was in as soon as his mouth opened just a tiny crack. It was curiosity kill the cat, but I highly liked what my curiosity showed to me.

I breathed in through my nose and I could no longer smell the air. Rather, his alluring scent filled me and allowed me to fall even further into the sensuousness of his warm lips that sent a wave of intensity down my spine. My bottom lip trembled as I pressed it against his harder, harder…

He pulled himself up, away from me, his mercury-hued eyes staring down at me in surprise as if they were asking 'what in the Digital World was _that_?' Instead, he verbally questioned shakily, his cheeks a crimson shade from what I had just sporadically done without his consent, "Now… was that at all… civilized?"

_Of all things, that's what he asks me?_ I laughed as I replied, "No, clearly not, depressingly enough. But it was fun. You gotta admit it was fun." _Or at least if you consider me shoving my tongue down your throat for no real reason fun._

At this he chortled a little bit, which surprised me. His voice came out a bit steadier than before, but his face showed that he still hadn't recovered completely. "Yes, but still in no sense civilized." His eyes moved about awkwardly and he gave an equally-awkward cough. "So exactly…why did you do that?"

I gave him a cheesy smile, sliding his sunglasses up into my bangs again. "Beats me, but I really don't care at this point." Maybe it was the fact that I was _here_. Here of all other places I could be, and it had pulled me up into a cloud higher than nine. I chuckled while revealing all my teeth. "Hee hee hee, it was still so fun, though."

He gave me a look, showing that he still hadn't completely recovered from the immense surprise I had caused him. After all, I had practically scared the crap outta him, since not even for a second he had made an effort to kiss me back, so it was like I was making out with a statue. A very warm and very soft statue. "…Sure," he responded passively, "I'm glad you…uh, enjoyed yourself."

"Oh, you bet I did." I sat up and turned my head toward him, the sun beginning caress my cheeks. I jumped to my feet, watching him just stare at me in slight curiosity, and interlaced my fingers behind my back. I looked about at the trees that towered over us. "Hey, you know what?" The way my voice suddenly perked seemed to surprise him. "I'm hungry! I'm gonna go find some sort of fruit tree or something!"

And then took off running before he could protest in any way, shape, or form. It felt like a weight was being removed with every step I took, every breath that came from my mouth. I didn't know what was pulling me, what made me need to get away, but something just had grasped onto my wrist and dragged me away. This thing, I knew, wasn't the hunger I claimed it to be.

I threw my head into my hands and groaned the moment my run tapered down into a walk. "God…" I muttered, knowing there was no escape from what I was feeling. I could throw on a façade, no problem, but it didn't remove my problem or the pain that it caused. "I'm so tired…" _Tired of pretending to be all right…_ I knew that I couldn't let Henry see me in the mess I was inside—in his kindness, he'd try to help me and get as ruined inside as I was. I refused to let that happen; he of all people didn't deserve that…

Where I was going, I wasn't sure, but my legs were carrying my body along, my mind hardly present to direct them. The only time I realized what was going on was when I suddenly faced with one, quite large clawed foot. My head turned upward in slow motion and scanned the form of a red dinosaur Digimon with black stripes about its body which was staring back down at me with its deep blue eyes. It lowered its head down before me and puffed stinky air out of its nostrils at me.

"Ewwie…" I waved my hand in front of my nose to waft away the smell and took some steps back, my eyes growing wide. "Well, he's definitely not happy…" Never before, except for in the Digimon anime, had I ever seen a Digimon quite this big. I'd only encountered the Digimon that the other Tamers had, so that limited size considerably.

The dinosaur growled and was illuminated in a bright white light. If I had thought it was bigger before, I was clearly mistaken. Not only had the black and red reversed color schemes on its body, it had also earned itself a growth spurt.

"Oh crap, it Digivolved!" I took a few more steps back and yanked out my Digivice. A weird round hologram emerged from the screen that showed the Digimon. It displayed some data about it, leading me to believe this was a Digimon analyzer of some sort, and from it I learned that this very vehement, austere creature was called MasterTyrannomon.

I tried to smile at it, but if my smile was a fruit, it would've been rotten. "Well, it was pretty cool seeing you Digivolve and all—I'm happy for you…I guess, but I must be going, so…bye." And took off running in the opposite direction.

It took about a step and a half for MasterTyrannomon to catch up with me, which really didn't help me much. So the one thing I thought would be imperative to do in this situation is scream my head off. It seemed like the thing to do at this particular moment, especially noticing that the exact moment when I happened to look back, it was throwing back its arm, claws poised…kinda like it wanted to attack or something…

Oh _crap_.

"Shirai, run!"

Instantly, I felt control of my arm being snatched away from me and being pulled practically off my feet to get me running again. Snapping my head forward so I could actually see where I was going, I realized it was Henry who grabbed me by the wrist and was practically dragging me away. It took a moment and a half of daydreaming to decide now wasn't exactly the best time to think about that slight display of his heroics.

The ground shook and quaked at the sheer force that MasterTyrannomon's claws drove into the earth. The dint pulled me down prostrate and I pulled Henry down with me. All the voices inside my head were screaming in complete trepidation and one of them took hold of me and wouldn't let me look. My throat was burning, suddenly snapping me into the realization that I was now physically screaming; for how long, I wasn't sure.

My ears caught the sound of a roar, my body felt the vibrations of movement, but I didn't want any of it. When I wished to come to the Digital World, I didn't want any of this. I didn't want to this side of the world—I didn't ask for any of this. What had I done to make Fate so angry at me? What could I do to make it better?

Henry's hand moved from my wrist and grasped my hand. I heard voices, but there were far too many to distinguish them. I refused to open my eyes; I needed to keep my head as best as I could. _What you can't see can't hurt you…_ My other hand came to shield my face as if I subconsciously expected someone to come and smack me. _But hiding won't save me…_

More shouting. More vibrations. There were roars and booms. My head was spinning, the blackness inside my mind dizzying. Something trapped within my skull was slashing me, working from the inside out, trying to destroy everything in its path to burst from its cage. I didn't know how to stop it, how to make the agony subside. It was trying to kill me.

My jaw was locked into place, my breath being drawn out as from a little tube. _This world, this world…_ I squeezed Henry's hand like a lifeline, tighter, tighter, not out of desire but _necessity_. If I'd let go, I'd fall. Where, I wasn't sure; how far, it was impossible to know. All I was certain of was I wouldn't—I _couldn't_—fall.

And suddenly…

Silence.

It didn't quell the screaming within me, though. I thought the storm inside me was going to take over and strip me of everything, absolutely _everything_. I felt it driving its nails into my shoulders and trying to taunt me with harsh words. Trapped within it, I shrieked with a raw windpipe, "Don't! Stop it! Stop it!" I felt myself crying, both inside and out, until my voice was chilled. "Why? Why are you doing this to me?"

Suddenly it all faded out. The voices, the feelings, the immensity that was threatening escape. It all came into all-too clear focus so quickly I didn't realize my eyes had opened until I felt them burn. The Tamers were staring back at me, bewitched by my hysterics. The obvious question didn't need to be voiced, but I had no response to give. Words were too small an item.

My eyes came down and I stared at my lap. I removed my fingers interlaced with Henry's and just gazed at them like they were holding a bloodstained dagger. They trembled violently and I couldn't console myself enough to make them stop. _What is happening?_

My teeth chewed at my lip as my eyes flickered up and down from the Tamers to my hands, feeling that I should say something, but too ashamed to do so. "I…I…" I moved my gaze away, but just as I did so, I caught sight of a large, dinosaur-like Digimon, different than before, staring down at us with bright, yellow eyes. The attempt at words I had been making was interrupted abruptly by a high scream and temptation of tears as I concealed my face in my palms.

The others turned sharply at my alarmed cry and I heard Takato's voice call out, "Growlmon, DeDigivolve!"

My fingers slid apart so that I could peek through them. I tried to gather up my bearings as I gathered the nerve to look. "G-Growl…mo…n?" I felt as though my thoughts and the movement that proceeded were moving in slow motion when I turned my head. My body trembled as I locked eyes with the creature in question. "Growl…mon?"

The dinosaur Digimon was red and black, adorning unmistakable similarities to Takato's partner. Its voice, I found, was nearly identical to Guilmon as it said, "I'm sorry, Takato." It burst into light as I had previously seen Tyrannomon do, but instead shrunk down into the Rookie state. "I had to make sure he was gone."

It brought me a little comfort in seeing a smile appear on my cousin's face. "You did good, boy. Good job." But then he turned to look at me, his wine-colored eyes set aglow with emotion. His voice came out in a different manner than it had before. "Rai…What happened?"

Rika crossed her arms and had a look on her face that seemed to tell me she was trying to analyze me. "Do you even know what happened?" she questioned in a tone I couldn't find words to define. It didn't match her facial expression; something was trying to contradict the other and that aspect drew me into attention.

For a moment I just looked that them and their Digimon in silence. There was a distinct part of me that just didn't want to answer Rika's question that was all-too conscious of what sort of response I would receive from my reply. This feeling took over and when I opened my mouth, I only obtained the roughness of my throat reminding me of my lassitude. This unintended, extra moment of silence made me afraid of what they were going to say.

I was quick to get onto my feet, then, and tried to smile away this breakdown. "I'm okay." When my voice came out, it moreover squeaked, so I repeated myself, trying to pull myself together as best as I could. "I'm okay." Their responding expressions told me they didn't especially accept my words, but I didn't want them to notice just how hard it was for me to smile, so I tilted my head upward and pretended to be passive. "Well…it's, um…pretty light out for this time of…night."

Within mere moments of when I closed my lips, it seemed like someone flipped a light switch and inky darkness came across the land like some upper being was tucking the Digital World in darkness like a parent pulling a blanket over a child and tucking him in. The night sky was deep and blue and, stars twinkled gently, resembling sequins sewn on the sky. Never before had Earth's night sky ever looked like this.

I felt my nerves ease at the disappearance of the light. Easier to hide. They wouldn't have to worry as much. I wouldn't be on their minds.

"Anyone else in the mood for a place to bunk?" Kenta questioned, his voice holding tones of a whine, cueing a yawn in the midst of his inquiry. No one seemed amused with how conspicuous he brought out the hint and it seemed to be a rather good thing the darkness rather concealed all of the looks everyone was giving him. But also, in the darkness, I really couldn't tell what look I was giving him, either.

Guilmon perked up at the boy's question and put a dog-like smile on his face. "Ooh, I saw a place!"

* * *

The place that Guilmon lead us to was amidst the forest, but at the same time, seemed to stand out above it. Literally, above it. It was by far the largest tree I'd ever seen, assisted by the hill it was situated on, dwarfing every other tree in the area with its tall, thick trunk and outspread branches that seemed to stretch on and on. At the very base of it, the trunk was hollowed out like a little cave. And this is where we decided to make camp for the night.

I had no idea what time it was, but when arrived at the location, it didn't take long for everyone to get situated and go off into their dreams. A part of me was utterly exhausted, but the remainder of me just didn't want to go to sleep. I sat in the silent darkness for an amount of time I didn't count, just looking about at each of the outlines of the Tamers and their Digimon, feeling lost and suffocated by the pressuring enclosure.

Silently I got up and walked through the tiny opening in the trunk out to the expansive Digital World. It was so quiet, as if the darkness was a spell that put the whole world to rest, and the cold wind that blew past me was refrained from making an arousing cry. I blessed its silence and sat down in the grass, facing the forest that had me afraid.

"_Just go to hell, Shirai…"_

I spun my head around, gasping at the voice and instantly going into a state of trepidation. My wariness didn't disperse, even when I spotted no one, and my heart was still racing. I could distinctly feel how wide my eyes were and how my instincts didn't fail to cause tremors about me. _I thought I heard—_I lowered my eyes and blinked back the emotion trying to escape from their corners. _No, I guess not. Maybe it's all in my mind…She's been on my mind anyway…_

Returning to my original position, I took the time to rub my eyes and shake my head. The sunglasses I had forgotten about fell down before my eyes. I pulled them off and stared hard at them. I wasn't sure how, but during the plights of the day, one of the lenses had earned a large crack. Guilt clapped its hand on my shoulder and I frowned at my own shortcomings as I turned the shades around in my hands. _I wish I could blame _her_ for all this, but I know it's not _her_ fault… None of this is…_

The cold wrapped around me and I closed myself in closer to myself, hunching over and pulling my bare legs near. "Why? …Why?"

"Rai?"

I turned slightly just as my cousin walked over, looking down at me with a vexed expression. His mouth made a little o, and this confusion seemed to make him a bit younger than he really was. "Can… Can I join you?" He gestured to the place next to me with his bright eyes and when I gave him a silent half-nod, he sat down cross-legged.

As a stiff noiselessness between us ensued, I didn't have to look at him to know he was watching me. He was an easy boy to read and it didn't take a genius to realize what he wanted to talk about, so it surprised him when I suddenly responded flatly to a question he didn't even ask, "I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me, you know."

He jumped and turned his head to look at me directly. The intensity of his irises glistened in what little light was here and illuminated the small frown he wore. "You don't have to go about anything alone. I can see it on your face; losing Salamon is changing you and we—"

I cut him off, clenching the sunglasses in my fist and staring him down with eyes that just didn't feel like mine. "Takato, I know what you're gonna say, and I've heard all of it before. This is my mistake and it's my job to fix it. I didn't ask you or anyone else to come here with me. I don't want you guys to get wrapped up in something that'll get you hurt because of my own stupidity, so you guys should just go home before anything bad happens." It bothered me how hard it was for me to get out those words; I hoped and prayed he didn't hear the desperation that was crying out in contradiction to my physical words.

As he spoke, I couldn't remove my gaze from that band-aid still on his face, taunting me and reminding me of the mistake I made that brought us here. "Tamer isn't just a title you earn by getting a Digimon; it's a symbol of bondage you weld with others just like you." He pulled out his D-Arc, the golden ring around the screen brilliantly standing out from the rest of his Digivice. "Being DigiDestined connects every one of us and that is the exact reason why we can't let you do things by yourself. You're one of us."

I stared at the device resting in his palm and pulled out my own. It was concealed in the darkness, refusing to shine the way his was. "I'm no Tamer, and I'm definitely no DigiDestined. Not with what I've done."

"Every one of us has done things we're not proud of. Things happened the last time we were here that changed all of us. We made mistakes and learned from them." His eyes flickered about with each note, remembrance burning within them.

My face pulled away from him. "You didn't see the way she looked at me. With those blaming eyes…she was trying to tell me, _You did this…_" I nibbled at my lip. Did I want to let him in? Did I want his judgment upon me? "No matter how I try to justify it in my mind, I can't run away from the fact it's all my fault…" Cold blanketed as the wind passed by and I wiped my eyes, trying to pull myself together. "I…I always hear her voice. The distance inside it is what kills me…"

There was a pause as he took in my words. I tightened my jaw and silently cried, hoping he wouldn't see the tears shining in the pale light of the stars. I reached over and with three fingers, held tight to the hem of his shirt for the security I desired. In single moments, he seemed like the older brother I never had. My rock.

I pressed my face to his sleeve, seeking his warmth. He was my constant in this unfamiliar, every-changing world. The calming scent of bread delivered me a foothold in the midst of my turmoil. "I just…I just want her back, Takato."


	17. Chapter 16: Little Heroes

**A/N: YES! This is one of the chapters I've been really hoping to get to! A part that I wrote up like a year ago is in here, and this is the chapter where the ball really starts rolling. I really like how this one turned out. I had major writer's block in the very beginning, but once I got about two pages into it, I was flying. I'm so happeh... *wipes tear***

**I'm sorry that this fanfic receives so much neglect, but in truth, it's one of my favorite things to write. It's pretty difficult to outline in comparison with Wherever You Will Go, and since it's less popular than that fic as well, it's kinda hard for me to get writing when I know people are more looking forward to Frontier than Tamers. It makes me sad that 03 doesn't get much attention on this site. It's so good! I was watching some episodes yesterday to regain the feel of the Tamer-verse Digital World, and I'd forgotten how much I just adored Tamers. **

**So since this chapter is very important to the rest of the fic, I'd mean A LOT to know how I did with the scenes in here. I'm so used to narrating characters like Mirai that it's hard to do Shirai. And since she's going through a lot of stuff right now, she's not really her usual self, either. I feel bad for doing all this crap to her; she's becoming less and less of the optimistic OC I created her to be and more glum. But it's what supposed to happen to her while she's in the Digital World, so it's not like her personality isn't agreeing with me or anything. And she'll be back to her normal self as soon as everything resolves. **

**Oh yes, by the way! Like last chapter, there's a hellova lot of symbolism in this chapter, especially when it comes to Rai mentioning Henry's sunglasses. So if you catch any of this, a cookie to you! :3**

**Anyway, 'nuff said! Hope you enjoy Chapter 16! R&R please, my poppets~!**

* * *

Chapter 16: Little Heroes

Discombobulated didn't even begin to describe how I felt that next morning. I had woken up thinking everything that had happened over the past few days had just been one big dream and I was in bed back in Shinjuku, but that huge crick in my neck didn't hesitate to prove me wrong. I probably would've been better off if I'd been run over by a steamroller.

I had escaped from a dreamless sleep, and that was probably fortuitous. I didn't want to think about what I _could've_ dreamt of, however I was always colorful with my imagination anyway, regardless of my demands to my mind.

I was one of the last to rise. Only Kazu and Kenta, who were practically cuddling each other caught up in their dreams, were still out cold after the sun pouring into the tree had caused me to rouse. My body was cramped and sore, and it reminded me just how much I really didn't want to be where I was. Stretching and forcing the cramps out of my bones, I got up from my place on the hard ground and walked out through the opening in the tree.

No one had turned at my arrival, which pleased me since I didn't feel like drawing too much attention to myself, and I noticed then they—humans and Digimon alike—were all gathered in a circle, discussing something I couldn't hear. So instead, I looked about at the world, feeling the warmness of the rising sun and seeing it shining before my eyes. I wished I could've said it was another day in paradise, but the pit in my stomach said it was just the opposite.

"Good morning, Rai!" Calumon nearly scared the crap out of me by scampering over and pretty much tackling me into a hug. "Bear hug time!" He laughed heartily as he grasped tightly onto my shirt and hung there just trembling with happiness. Apparently someone was a morning 'mon, which honestly surprised me to no end.

It took me a moment to exactly realize what just happened and when I had, I stared a little bit. And when I decided to answer, my voice came out crisp and without the sentiment I'm sure it would've usually held. "Good morning…Calumon."

If no one had noticed that I'd awoken before, they did now. I felt my face heat up with embarrassment and I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do. There were far too many eyes on me for my comfort, and suddenly I got the notion there was more behind those stares than just realizing I was standing there awkwardly. Confusion was second-nature to me, only a step behind embarrassment that comes from being pretty much the most bipolar of the Tamers.

I wasn't sure if someone was about to say something, and I probably wouldn't have been able to respond right if they had, but the mood of the group suddenly changed as Rika suddenly rose to her feet. Her expression said nothing regarding how tensely everyone else was eyeing me—in a manner that probably wondered if I was going to burst, as much as I hated admitting it—when we locked gazes. Her jaw, which one moment had been hard-set, changed for a split-second to a…a…a _smile?_

I wasn't certain that's what I saw, but by the time I decided to wonder, it was gone and she had walked on past me. My head turned so that my eyes could follow the red-haired girl, but she was quick to disappear into the tree's entrance. It wasn't hard to know that she was in there, though since her voice suddenly rang out, "GET UP, BLOCKHEADS!"

In less than a second, I caught ear of Kazu and Kenta screaming like wussies and hardly an instant later, they darted out from where they'd been snoozing, looking utterly terrified. Behind them, Rika walked out, her arms crossed across her chest and her expression nonchalant. The flare in her amethyst-hued eyes clearly said, _My work here is done…_

A distinct part of me was highly grateful for what she'd just done. I wasn't sure why she'd decided to wake them at that particular moment, but something told me—maybe it was that image of her smile—that she'd done it to avert attention from me. _She's a lot nicer than her exterior appears…_ I made a grimace at an attempt at a smile. _Though she's no less intimidating. I'm glad she waited till I was up to raise hell on the guys…_

While Kazu and Kenta were at a loss at words from what just went down, my cousin took it as an opportune time to get down to back on track (though he still seemed a bit scared of Rika's behavior), "Okay, so now that everyone's up, what's our plan of attack gonna be?"

"We keep going," I responded without a thought's hesitation. It surprised me how crisp my voice came out, and I looked around to see if anyone noticed just how different it was to it normally was, but didn't spot anyone giving me a weird look. That was a bit of a relief; I didn't like the idea of people wondering just what was going on with me. Especially when I didn't know, either.

"Yeah, there's really nothing else we really _can_ do at this point," Rika agreed nonchalantly, causing supportive nods to arise from several other group members. Her eyes were solid, only shifting when Renamon appeared at her side matching her Tamer's stoic appearance. Their flat expressions remained unchanged as the redhead's words took hold.

My eyes flickered over to Henry, trying to interpret his expression. His eyes were clouded, calculating the risks of the proposition. I dropped my gaze back down, his sunglasses wrapped in my fingers. The green lenses peeked up at me through the gaps between my fingers, each gap holding part of my reflection broken into each little section. For a moment, I thought it was mirroring how I was inside.

I was jerked back up when Henry began to speak, his tone collected, "We should have a rendezvous point in case someone gets separated. How about if a member of our group gets separated, they backtrack to here? It's a point that's pretty easy to find, and you can see it from miles away." He looked upon all of the Tamers after making his point for confirmation. "So with that, does anyone else have any other suggestions?"

Jeri perked up at this, a smile on her delicate face as she suggested cheerily, "We should use the buddy system!" Her brown irises shined, the morning sun bringing out a golden color from deep within them.

"Well, in that case, I believe I'm best suited for the position of Cupcake's buddy!" With that, Kazu pretty much latched himself onto my arm, earning a few well-reasoned groans from all the others. All he could do was keep on grinning like a total moron, oblivious to the tight air and just how narrow my eyes were.

A simultaneous exclamation between Guardromon and Kenta was far more than surprising. "But, Kazu, I thought _I_ was your buddy!"

Takato, giving a halfway weirded-out chuckle, cut in before something else ensued that may have been just a wee bit harder to stop. "Okay, guys. Let's just get going before we waste all our daylight." His smirk was slightly oblique, knowing he just kept the situation from taking a turn for the weird, made evident by the look in his wine-hued eyes.

That said, we began our trek away from the place we had spent the night. The forest seemed far too small, and it was easy to escape from. But that meant we were getting farther from the smallest amount of familiarity we possessed here. I didn't enjoy my experience in the forest, but it was the only place in the Digital World that I could say that I knew. At least…knew enough of it to be utterly terrified of what it contained.

But yet, at the same time, leaving the place in which we first arrived, it felt like we were getting farther from our world. I could still see it—that big celestial body in the sky, make out Japan on its surface, but it just seemed unreachable. _What if we can't get back? _The thought hit me like a full-body tackle, causing my heart to lurch. _It'll be my fault. I'd be screwing up again and the others will have to suffer for my mistake…_

I looked at all of the other Tamers, one by one. They seemed so blissfully-ignorant to this. My cousin knew some of what tore me up inside, and I was certain everyone else wasn't too far off in whatever suspicions they might've had, but it didn't seem they were aware of how deep they were now in. None of them had ever told me how they returned from the Digital World the first time they'd gone, but just seeing the real world up high into the sky made me doubt that it had been easy.

_Why didn't I think any of this through before?!_ The frustration that was pent up inside me threatened to escape, causing me to pinch my lip between my teeth to keep from making a sound. My silence is what kept the others from worrying about me, above the suspicion I didn't want. I'd been told frequently in my past that holding in feelings will only make things worse, but throwing my problems on others was far more troublesome, I reasoned.

When I decided now wasn't a good time to brood over this, we broke through the edge of the forest. It gave way to this desolate area, almost like a desert, but it seemed like it recently could've once been a forest. Trees were uprooted and charred, split at the trunk, and everything bore the touch of destruction. I could almost feel the death.

In the distance, weird pillars of purplish lights moving about in a way that reminded me of the beam of a UFO trying to suck up things on earth, like the typical cow or alien abduction. They seemed to be able to move quite quickly.

"What are those?" I decided to ask, since none of the other Tamers seemed to look at them with any lack of familiarity.

"Data streams," Henry responded quickly, preparing for his expanded explanation. "They suck up anything that touches them and transports it to some other part of the Digital World. It's how people on earth exchange data on the web. It just goes to show how connected the two worlds are; actions on one affect the other."

Kenta piped up with a personal comment, "Unfortunately we know how random the locations they lead to are." He showed off a pout and at the expression, MarineAngemon hovered around his head and mirrored his look.

"Last time we were here," Terriermon added from atop Henry's shoulder, cheerful despite his words, "We got sucked into so many of them things that it was a constant game of hide and seek! Whew, it was like going around in circles!"

At this, as if it was a demented cue, Kazu slinked back over, somehow closer than he had been before and hinted, "Which is why you should stick close to me, Cupcake, so that—oof!"

That more than natural, yet highly awkward-sounding noise was the consequence of me growing extremely annoyed with his crap and jabbing one rather stick-like (therefore pretty pointy) elbow into his gut. The force was enough to wind him and send him to the ground as he tried to ride it off, his face screwed up majorly.

"Back off," I scoffed, batting my face away from his general direction and fighting the distinct urge to put on a violated pout. _I_ wouldn't do that. However, of course, I _would_ receive that all-too familiar smack of regret that spurred whenever I realized Kazu would continue hitting on me, since I couldn't really tell him that I was spoken for. Dang that karma.

With people giving me an expression that obviously thought my attitude had been spending too much time with a certain Nonaka girl, our trek had taken a temporary pause for the cause. Aka, waiting for Kazu to recover enough that no one would have to bust their butts carrying him while Guardromon questioned the meaning of this recent rejection (with words like, "Kazu, is this what you meant by the term 'ladies' man'?").

But then we heard something. Not far off, the other side of the hill before us probably. I couldn't put the sound into tone words, but its general identity was still obvious. It was a heart-breaking sound that I had heard no creature ever make.

The blood-curling shriek of death.

We ran to it, not sure what we would see. I didn't know what I should've been anticipating, but nothing would've prepared me for what my eyes truly set upon as we topped the hill. My entire form began to shake without my consent and my breath hitched painfully in my windpipe before it could give me the air I needed.

I knew those Digimon with their green bodies and round, black eyes and flower-topped heads from the show. There were several of them—a family, I wanted to believe—and my mind clicked as the Digimon that was the partner of Mimi. Palmon if my memory was right.

And I hated to admit it, but I recognized the other, lone Digimon as well. Her wild, crazed, blood-hued eyes, human-like form, sharp, fang-like teeth. Her dark body, chains wrapped about her form, long, crimson claws extending from her hands. They were characteristics to a Digimon that I didn't like to acknowledge as a familiar.

With an agape mouth I stood, watching as she moved with agile ability. She seemed to glide over the ground with her claws poised before her. A smirk appeared on her face as she shot like a torpedo at the Palmon. "Black Wing!" she sneered, her left hand morphing into a long, sharp spike. Without a single hesitation written on her face, she ran it through a Palmon.

She spun about, planting her feet on the ground as the ivy Digimon disintegrated into crimson shards before my eyes. I jolted back, questioning the reality. _She-she just destroyed that Digimon…_ I felt my face begin to contort, the red shards being absorbed into her form. _Is that…is that…? No, it can't be. It can't be her. There isn't anyone I know left in her—she wouldn't do this. How could she murder another creature so mercilessly? She's the very opposite of that Angewomon trading card that Sal had me buy back in Shinjuku…_

…_LadyDevimon._

At our arrival, she seemed to turn in slow motion, her long, gray hair sliding over her back. That smirk on her face twisted my heart around in knots as it revealed just how much gratitude that killing an innocent life awarded her. It was evident in her voice, her taut and smug tone as she spat out every word, "Like what you see, Digimon _Tamers_?"

I heard Jeri just a few feet from me, nearly inaudible as she whispered out her words, "That…that poor Digimon…"

"Are you the one that destroyed this area?" Takato called to her sharply, his tone and face growing tight. I saw his D-Arc in his grasp, its golden ring glinting in the spaces between his fingers. "Why would you do something like this?!"

Her deep eyes grew amused by his remark. "As Tamers, your duty is to protect the Digital World and your world, using your Digimon partner to stop those that threaten to disrupt the peace. I find these Digimon weaker than those who liberate themselves from the likes of humans. They know what _true_ power is…" She put her hand on her hip, examining her claws of her opposite hand absentmindedly. "They don't know what it's like to be held back by the strains of human emotion. Such bondage is meaningless, especially when there's so much world to conquer—and with it, countless bits of data to collect."

"Hey, answer the question already!" Rika cut in, flashing a single, mauve eye toward my cousin before shooting her penetrating gaze back to LadyDevimon. "_Why_ are you destroying this area and these Digimon?!"

If LadyDevimon's eyes weren't solid in color, I bet she would've rolled them. She let out an exasperated sigh as she responded, "And you were the ones that were said to have saved your world from D-Reaper… For heroes, you lack brains. To find meaning, one must grow powerful and rise far above the weak." She looked upward to the sky, her eyes locked on Earth far above, but then quickly dropped her face back down. "This is what my master is aiming for. I share in his ambitions. Grow strong, and the world will fall at your feet. With such power, a _partner_ is obsolete." Her gaze snapped in my direction and I shuddered, the feeling that was killing me in the back of my mind confirmed.

"Just who is your master?!" Henry snapped, Terriermon leaping off his shoulder to poise before him. His eyes like mercury, they still managed to burn like fire. His jaw was tight and his brows were furrowed, like the rest of the others, expecting a battle.

She cackled at the question as if it was some sort of a joke. "Ironic that you of all people ask." Her smile was sly only a split-second, but then became nothing less than sinister. "My master is the one who wishes to seek justice on the one that has wronged him. He is also the one that has made me what I am. I have evolved from what I once was—that restrained, held back state—and it is all because my master saw inner potential."

No matter how I tried to shake it, her words kept repeating that reality that I couldn't deny. What happened to her, what had brought her to where she was… I put my face into my hands, trying to keep my eyes off of her. _No…no…Why is she doing this? Is this really what I—?_

I had to stop myself. I couldn't fall apart now. Squeezing my eyes shut, my hands grasped around my face. My entire body shuddered at LadyDevimon's voice, "Oh, is one little Tamer scared? What she can't see can't hurt her." My eyes snapped open when I realized she was addressing me directly, but didn't move my hands from my face. _Why? Is she doing this out of spite?_ "Hating this reality? You made this choice—you have to lie in the bed you made. Or is being DigiDestined not all you imagined it to be?"

My face snapped up to stare at her. I could feel my bottom lip quivering as I denied. "It…" My voice cracked as it worked its way up my windpipe, and even then, it was much quieter than I had anticipated. "It's…not my…my fault…" My eyes fell back down to my hands held out before me. _It's not…she blamed it on her master…but…_

She laughed heartily, and I could feel her smirking at me without actually looking up to see her do it. "Let's see just how much of this Tamer-business that you can pull out of that cowardice." I locked gazes with her, her pointed fangs glinting, and she snapped her head back towards the two remaining Palmon. "Black Wing!" Her hand transformed into a spear, and she poised.

"C'mon, guys, we can't let her destroy them!"

Takato's order caused Rika and Henry to mimic his move of pulling out a Modify Card and held out their D-Arcs. Their Digimon were just as ready as they were, ready to take on LadyDevimon. The three Tamers' voices came out simultaneously, their words identical as they slashed the cards through their Digivices, "Digi-Modify! Digivolution activate!"

Their Digimon were enveloped in light as they began to Digivolve. Guilmon turned into the large dinosaur I had seen the day previous, Growlmon, and I recognized the form that Terriermon became as well from the Digimon Movie. He grew larger, more bulky of body, and his hands were replaced with revolvers. A bandolier was slung obliquely over one shoulder across his chest, loaded with rounds, and from waist down, he wore baggy cargo pants. It was Gargomon, I remembered.

Renamon changed into a Digimon I couldn't recall the name of. She became four-legged and her single tail became nine. She had a white mane, over which was a red and white rope that was tied into simple bow. When I pulled out my D-Arc, it told me that her name was Kyubimon, and I figured she was based off of the nine-tailed fox from mythology.

They stood in line as Guardromon joined them, MarineAngemon hanging back to be ready for the potential need of healing. LadyDevimon didn't seem at all bothered by this development; rather, she seemed just greatly amused as if this is what she was hoping for all along. _Sal wouldn't have been intimidated, either…_

She ogled at the Digimon that were opposing her, her cockiness evident with how she presented herself and how she looked to the spike that her hand transformed into with little interest. "Hoo hoo! So you think you can stand up to me? Nonsense! What a game this should be—it'll be so much fun! Show me what power you possess, little heroes. Think of it as a carnival game! Hit the vampire, win a prize!"

With that, she ran at the Palmon, moving almost too fast for my eyes to follow her. Instantly the Tamers' Digimon began to fire barrages of attacks from every direction, but she maneuvered gracefully, bending her body about just enough to avoid the attacks, never once decreasing her speed. The Palmon never got a chance to move an inch when she stabbed her spike through one and shattered it into bits of data.

She absorbed the data and bounced away from the one remaining Palmon, still receiving attacks—even close-up attempts—but her speed was unmatched. She hardly seemed to be paying attention to the Digimon that were trying to lay hits on her; rather she was watching _us_ for any movement on our part. Her sneer was directed towards the Tamers engaged in battle, "You're gonna do better than that, I hope, or this'll be quite boring."

As the humans next to me made remarks about her speed and arrogance, I ignored them and looked over to that one remaining ivy Digimon. It looked far too scared to dare run, but even so, it probably knew running wasn't going to save it from LadyDevimon unless the Digimon engaged against her did something major. My eyes glanced back down at Henry's sunglasses that I refused to let go of. _He went out of his way for me so many times…I shouldn't be afraid to do the same for someone…_ I tried to gulp down the large knot in my throat. _…But I'm not cut out to be a Tamer. I'm not as smart as him; I'm not as brave as Takato; I'm not as strong as Rika… Is there anything _I_ can do?_

I caught ear of LadyDevimon once again, but didn't look in her direction, "One more chance, little heroes. Better not screw it up!"

My teeth pressed hard into my lip. _If that's really her, she won't— _My mind ceased its train of thought as my feet began to move on their own. I heard the sounds of battle commencing, her endless taunts with each and every miss, but I didn't want them to move my eyes and deter me. _If this is all I can do—_

I spun about and outspread my arms, dropping my face down and closing my eyes. A gust of wind smacked me, causing me to rise up my face and stare up at LadyDevimon, who had stopped short less than a foot from me. She seemed delighted that I was dividing her from that last Palmon, showing that much defiance against her. I tried to keep my face stoic, but I felt images creeping back into my mind and with them, those words that I just couldn't shake. _Just go to hell, Shirai…_

"Look who suddenly decided to play Tamer after all this time." She reached down and prodded my cheek with one, long, crimson nail. I let my face move to her will, but kept my eyes up upon hers. I could hear that all of the other Tamers and their Digimon froze at this development. "You haven't changed much. Heroics can't possibly help anyone, especially since you're alone, inexperienced, and oh-so self-absorbed. You should just look at yourself, shaking like a little leaf." She smirked as I realized I actually was trembling quite noticeably. "Have you still not realized how real all this is? Being a Tamer was all a game to you, an opportunity to have your own Digimon. But now, even though you're without a partner, do you still think you're worth such a title? I don't think so."

When I opened my mouth to respond, my lips began to quiver. How close she was, how cold and and and—how _evil_. The thought sent me back to those times when Salamon was that snotty little prankster, when she didn't hesitate getting me into all sorts of trouble, laughing when I did something dumb while trying to fake gracefulness. She could've been rude at times, but it never concealed her good, pure heart. "S-Sal…"

Her face contorted at my single, choked-out word. I didn't know what to make of her expression. "That Digimon doesn't exist any longer. Have you seen any signs of my old self within me? Look about me. No Power Ring. Just accept that your _friend _is gone. I don't wish to make amends with you—I'm far better off." She dropped her arms to her sides and raised up her chin slightly. "Just look at what I have become. Salamon has nothing on LadyDevimon."

I furrowed my brows and muttered, "I refuse to believe that…" My eyes dropped backwards to the Palmon, who watching us intently. "I may not be good enough to be a Tamer, but you can't remove friendship. You were the one that taught me how to be a friend. I was a shy, little girl before I met you. You can't forget what memories we made…"

She shook her head and I watched in captivation as her sleek hair swayed with the simple motion like a venomous snake slithering across the sand. From the lack of distance between us, I could clearly see the sharpness of her fangs as she grinned wryly down at me. "Remembering and regretting are two different things, _Shirai_." She brought up one, clawed hand level with her shoulder. "Now, if you don't mind getting out of my way…"

My head turned away involuntarily, and I stared at the ground kitty-corner of me. "Make me," I scoffed stupidly, knowing she had _never_ liked me talking back to her.

"So be it." She winded me by smacking me across the gut with the back of her hand, enough force to send me reeling and to the ground. I grasped my abdomen with both hands, grinding my teeth to keep from making a sound. My wide eyes couldn't move from her figure, her devilish smirk as she pierced straight through Palmon's small body, twisted her hand around, and yanked it back out. The grassy Digimon burst into shimmering bits of data and disappeared at contact of LadyDevimon's skin.

When she turned and peered down at me, I froze. Her smile, as innocent as a corrupt Digimon could become, didn't even remotely resemble the smile of Salamon. "It's been nice seeing you, Shirai. I hope you've enjoyed this little get-together. " She turned, and before anyone else could move, jumped up into the air and shot out of sight.

As I struggled up to my feet, more shaken than injured, I only stared at the place where she disappeared. A part of me wished for her to come back, and a little image of my mind appeared that she did—she returned, but not as the form we had just witnessed, a form that almost made me break down and cry. To see what she'd become—what I had turned her into. No matter what she said, it wasn't her master that she had mentioned that made her that way…

The Tamers approached me, but I didn't pay any attention to their words that were directed to me. I wanted to know where my once-partner was going, who she served, why she wouldn't tell me anything. I hated that look she held in her eyes, that taunting glint within the seas of crimson. She was daring me to oppose her, and no matter how much I knew I couldn't fight her, I felt a pull towards her. I _needed_ to get her back.

I breezed past the Tamers, pushing my way through them and began to walk, my gaze set tight. "I have to go after her…" I muttered, loud enough that I knew that they had heard me. I curled my fingers into fists. I temporarily forgot about Henry's shades in my hand until my grasp was tight around them. "I don't want you guys to come. I don't care if I'm defenseless—I'd rather I got hurt than any of you…"

Henry stopped me, grabbing my wrist and pulling me to an abrupt halt. I turned my head back towards him, but kept my lips pursed as he began to speak, "Shirai, what are you saying? You saw what she did. She just callously destroyed an entire family of Digimon—this whole area and probably every other Digimon in it without a single hesitation." His eyes were analytical, trying to get into my head to figure out just what I was thinking. "She's not on our side anymore."

I tried to pull away from him, my eyes tightening in my wondering why _he_ of all people was opposing me. He should've realized that this was something I couldn't keep from doing. "I know she's there—the _real_ Salamon—I know if she could help it, she'd defy the evil that's controlling her!" _That's why she didn't attack me, Henry…_

With my resistance, he only grasped my wrist harder. He clearly didn't care he was making a scene in front of the others, and neither did I; such a trivial thing didn't matter at a time like this. "You can't be completely sure of that!" He was beginning to lose his cool, his eyes as sharp as his voice. "What if—?"

I cut him off, feeling my emotions boiling up as much as his. I was impatient with his analysis, always letting logic get in the way of duty. He of all of the Tamers should've understood exactly what I was feeling; I thought he knew me. "Yes I can, Henry! You saw her—you saw what _I_ turned her into, not some master that we don't know! I'm her Tamer, and that's the very reason why I have to go!"

My stubbornness was annoying him; it was easy to tell. It was just as evident on his face as it was with his tone. "Shirai, I'd be a fool to let you go!"

I couldn't stand it anymore, him and his stupid over-protectiveness coupled with his stupid intelligence. Before I realized what I was doing, I had raised a hand and smacked hard him across the face. He released his grip on me, and we stared at each other long and hard. _Why don't you understand me…? _"That's where you're wrong, Henry," I murmured, feeling tears tugging at the corners of my eyes, begging to be released. I had been squeezing his sunglasses so hard that the lenses shattered. The glass pressed into my palm, cutting into my skin. "You'd be a fool to make me stay…"


	18. Chapter 17: Haunted

**A/N: FINISHED!...with this chapter. Oi, this one took so long to write. Gomen nasai, my poor, abused readers! Please remember I still love you!**

**Actually, I had no intentions to even write in this today; I was actually gonna write in Wherever You Will Go, but I accidentally clicked on the folder that contained IYOK and so I decided, "Whatever, I'll open the doc and see what happens..." And TA-DAAA~! I wrote about six pages over the course of the past seven hours (granted, I took many breaks and got distracted many a time...) and finally finished this chapter I've been neglecting for about two months. **

**But now onto chapter details! First off, I'd like to say right now the next few chapters will jump between Rai's POV and third person narration to fit the need. Especially as the plot develops, this becomes necessary. But I feel I did pretty good so far with third person monologues that focus on the thoughts and feelings of one specific character. Henry's was surprisingly fun; I can blab logically for a long time (that's a funny statement coming from me, isn't it?), but actually, in this he came out sorta bitter I think...?**

**You know, when I wrote out the first part of this chapter (I had the part planned out for who knows how long) I thought it came out excessively dark (one of the cases where I'm glad I can't write horror, otherwise I'd probably scare myself to death with this). But then the next day I watched the part of Tamers where Beelzemon kills Leomon and Takato goes all berzerker, and I realized the whole season (even the English version with its soft-lined dubbing) is pretty dang dark in essence. (I was watching it with my bestie and the entire time we were both sitting there like 0.0 when it was all over, I just asked her, "Was this always that...traumatizing?")**

**Oh yes on another note, in this chapter we get to see a little bit of a more respectable side to Kazu. Quite frankly, he's one of my favorite Tamers, and I'm happy to write him showing a little maturity and growth here, because despite that he and Kenta are basically useless in the series, he really is a good character.**

**OH and before I forget, we're finally getting a little more Rukato here! And there is more to come as well. I love writing Takato in 3rd person, especially when Rika's around. It feels like I can't get his personality right when I narrate with Rai, but now that it's temporarily an independent narration, I think I got him down better. **

**And as a final note, I don't own the song that Calumon sings in here. Although we should all know where it's from anyway...**

**So with all of that said, please enjoy chapter 17! R&R, loves~! :)**

* * *

Chapter 17: Haunted

Trying not to look at his face, I turned quickly and ran, not permitting myself to cry. I ignored the shouts to me, telling me to come back, and forced myself to keep going. I wiped my eyes; my head dropped down to the ground. I couldn't get that look out of my head; Henry's wide, confused eyes staring at me as he placed a hand tenderly up to his cheek. I hated all of the words that he didn't have to speak for me to hear; I hated all of his logic that strived to prove my errors to me. No matter how smart he was, he couldn't fill that instinct within me that told me exactly what I needed to do.

I never had considered for one moment that reason would conflict with Henry. For a long time I considered Henry to hold my reason; he seemed to have all the answers, he grasped all the logic that surpassed my own understanding, and yet now when his thoughts and mine diverged for not one second did I question my own knowledge. This was the one time, the one situation where I _knew_—I could feel it within much more than my gut—that he was _wrong_.

And for more reasons than one, that mere fact alone angered me. He was the one I confided to, forged a bond with, and yet he crossed my path, expecting me to selfishly keep myself protected when my best friend was out there somewhere and _needed_ me.

That by itself should've been reason enough for him. _But if it's not…_ I stifled a jerky breath in my vain efforts to hold in all of my tears, keeping my eyes forward and away from the scene behind me. _…then clearly you're not the person I thought you were…_

"Rai, look out!"

In the split-second after I had heard a voice call out to me, I saw a data stream coming my way. I couldn't even open my mouth before it had taken me up and multi-colored shards surrounded me from every angle. I felt the sheer force as it pulled me upward with velocity I didn't know, and panic rattled my entity inside and out. Here I was, in a world I was unfamiliar with, now being taken to a different location at complete random. _How am I supposed to find Sal now?_

There wasn't time for my heart to lurch up into my mouth, because by the time the thought had dawned on me, the data stream released me at a place that didn't even remotely resemble where I had left the Tamers. Emerald green plant life surrounded me, tall trees springing up here and there, and before me was a stone staircase that led up a hill I couldn't see the top of. I glanced back behind me and saw a long dirt trail leading into thicker woods.

The sounds birds chirping soothed my nerves slightly and thus I decided to begin up the steps, driven by my curiosity as to what sort of place this was. The birds, the faint rustling of leaves as the wind flowed through, and my footsteps against the carved stairs were all that I could hear. It seemed innocent enough as far as I could tell. There wasn't really anything out of the ordinary, at least going by how it was back on Earth.

Eventually the woods gave way to a small opening and the stairs led to the entrance of a flower garden atop the hill. Perfectly-trimmed hedges surrounded the garden and a canopy of precisely-planted trees made for a tunnel over the path that led inside. I could faintly hear the sound of running water and smell the sweet aroma of flowers.

The path didn't branch off; it only led straight into the garden, so I saw no sense in straying from it. The dirt path turned to vibrantly-hued pebbles at the entrance, shining slightly where the light peeked through the branches and touched it, and then glimmered even more so when the tunnel opened up.

Flowers were everywhere, in full bloom and arranged with delicacy about the entire garden. In the center of the garden was a large, stone fountain, the source of the water I had heard. Sparkling blue water flowed from the statues that took center stage: Three elegant Angewomon holding up their hands to the heavens as water flowed from their open palms and down from their fingertips. Their light smiles seemed to radiate bounds of infinite happiness and love as they looked up to thank their creator for life.

The breeze was a gentle coolness as it flowed around my figure. It carried in its long, boundless arms countless white rose petals that fell like snow. From where, I had no idea, but their descent was endless as they fell to the ground and covered the paths like a soft blanket. I caught a single petal in my hands, and it was at that moment that I caught ear of the gentle sound of music playing, much like the melodic tune of a music box.

This place, I realized, was like a haven. I had no word in my vocabulary that was fitting enough for its serenity and beauty. Even the small, soft petal resting in my hands was too delicately striking for my mind to wrap around and give a proper description. It was a pure, untainted white, like the first snow of winter or the feathers of a dove. And as all the others fell to the ground with soundless grace, the music filled that gap within the floating air.

But none of this meant anything to me. I found myself constantly looking about, trying to find a reason to enjoy the splendor for another moment. My eyes remained stagnant upon the statues standing upon the fountain's base, watching them intently as if they might make some sort of movement, yet somehow looking no farther than the world within my own head. Images flashed wildly, no patterns in their order, but their meanings all the same. _She could've been just as beautiful as the Angewomon here, but instead I turned her into a corrupt monster…_

I ripped my eyes away, refusing to gaze any longer. A sudden gust of wind blew the rose petal from my hands and with it, the gentle music faded away, leaving behind only soundlessness. The wind, the fountain, the rustling of leaves; everything had been shushed into silence. Dead silence.

The sky above me was consumed in pitch black clouds that seemed to have no beginning or end. The rose petals stopped falling, and the ones covering the ground instantly began to die and take on a brown that quickly wilted into black. As I stared down at the blackness that inked the ground, I felt cold droplets pelt me from above. I outreached my hand…

And in my palm splashed beads of blood.

I wanted to vomit. Crimson fell from above like rain, staining all of the dead flowers and making little, jagged red rivers across my trembling skin. The sheets ran across the surface of the statues, seeming to melt away the once-pure, angelic surface and revealing the horrific forms of a trio of LadyDevimon. The water, too, that once cascaded from delicate fingertips was overtaken by gushing floods of blood.

My body takes a single step backwards, but my mind is trapped, spinning in a dizzy, sickened manner. I could feel my breath shaking as it climbed in desperation to escape, but far too afraid to take its leave. The smell that invaded my nostrils spun my stomach around in knots, a sensation from which there was no fleeing. I took another step and my feet slipped from under me, sending me onto my back with a hollow cry.

All around me, shadows spun, cast in every object possible. The same shape, the same mannerisms. It was a ghostly silhouette, fleeting from one spot and shooting to another, multiplying until not an object was absent of the geist. Each one had a voice, the same voice that resounded from every angle and echoing in haunting unison:

"_You did this. You did this to me…_"

In one instant, the shadows shot to one place, just before my feet, pooling into one immense, dark mass. It began to bubble like hot tar, thick liquid twisting about and trying to claw upwards into open air.

A scream ripped up my throat and I was in motion within the blink of an eye. Tears were cold razors down my hot cheeks, blinding me until I was stumbling in my efforts to get away. Running down the stairs, I tripped and was tossed about uncontrollably as I crashed down them. My throat was too raw to vocalize the pain that racked me inside and out, twisting every nerve out of its place as I clambered back to my feet and could only keep going, driven by the all-consuming fear that I was being pursued.

I tried to wipe my eyes with the back of my bloodstained hand, but more tears only replaced them and that nauseating scent only continued to return. I couldn't escape; I didn't know nor care where I was going, just motivated by that need to_ get away._

A break within the forest revealed itself to me and burst forth into what could only be described by my endlessly-reeling, panicked mind as the bottom of a canyon. Two walls rose up on either side of me and all I could go was forward; not a second of hesitation ensued. My eyes shot in every direction, knowing full well that she could come from any angle at any time she desired. She would enjoy toying with me and trapping me in a place of no escape.

But then a wall of fallen boulders entered my vision, towering high above me. Desperation grasped at the back of my neck and my body froze in an instant. The muscles within me stiffened like set to ice, and the blood that wet my clothing delivered unceasing shivers throughout my entire being. The inner turmoil raged, digging its nails into my heart and cutting off the feelings that once all-too rapidly coursed through my insides.

A voice tore through every barrier and shattered something within my mind. The tears that only momentarily ceased once again poured in unceasing streams as I turned and ran. I met him with weary distress, shaking interminably as I tried to escape the reality that chased me, hiding my face from the living nightmares within the folds of his shirt as I clung to it with unsteady fingers. My voice was hollow and cracked, barely audible to my own ears, "Kazu, she's coming, she's coming… She won't stop…"

The way he pressed his fingers into my shoulders to reassure me as was intended. I was only focused on his voice, the sounds of skepticism and his indisposition to believing, "Who's coming? There's no one around. Guardromon, do you pick up anything?"

"That is a negative, Kazu."

At this, I managed to obtain a little cynicism to my own reality. I pulled away slightly, no longer filled with the scent of fresh blood and finding my skin and clothing clean of what had before marred my entire body. Only my own cuts and bruises dotted my bare skin. My damp eyes refused to accept this answer as they darted left and right, but only seeing Kazu and his partner appearing perplexed caused me to question everything that had just occurred. _Did she do this to me…to play with me? Why is she messing with my mind…?_

Just the mere thought sent me off the edge again. My entire face burned, nearly unable to release any more tears and my mouth numb. With each stifled breath was a convulsion of my shoulders and a small, aching hiccup. My mind was detached, trying to distinguish the real from the fake while my heart throbbed within my chest with distorted, mixed emotions.

I didn't receive any assurance as he gave me a long embrace, and I couldn't comprehend any of the words that came from his mouth, though I could hear those recognizable sounds that made up his familiar voice. The whirling of my mind was far too consuming; one thought became two, and two multiplied into countless amounts. I could only fear the absolute worse, and every scenario never failed to materialize into vibrant, unstoppable images.

It was in a single instant I knew that solitary, standing truth. That unshakeable reality that tearing myself away from would be deemed impossible—it would rush hauntingly back to me every time I tried to shake it:

_Sal was trying to make my life a living hell._

* * *

—Third Person Narration—

"Uh, Henry, don't you think we should go and try to find the others?" No response. "…I mean, it's just a suggestion."

It wasn't as though Kenta's suggestion was an unwise one; on the contrary, Henry realized the sensibility of it even before the shorter Tamer even opened his mouth to bring the idea up, but there was something twanging within the older boy's mind that occupied him. This something wasn't unknown to him—he was just as keen on reading his feelings as he was reading things that were unrelated to sentiment; however, the complications of this "something" was rendering him incognizant to the world about.

He had watched Shirai as she was pulled away by a data stream, but the chaos that ensued after LadyDevimon's departure was a force he knew the girl didn't want him to reckon with. He had watched her face change as the scene developed—that look she began to form as more words were thrown back and forth between them, that look that illustrated to him how betrayed she felt—yet some voice whispered within him to keep going, that maybe if he could make her see his logic then maybe she'd concede to him.

And she didn't.

A part of him knew that she wouldn't. He wasn't certain how he had that intuition, albeit it existed nonetheless. As he lamented upon it, his conclusion was that her similarities to Takato were uncanny. He knew almost far too well that the gogglehead would've done the same thing; he was a boy that put emotions and impulse over calculations and logic, a boy that thought with his heart rather than his head. Shirai was the same way.

_And that's why we're so different…_

Really, Henry hadn't ever foreseen a potential problem in their divergence of reasoning. Whenever he'd offered the girl insight, she always accepted and treated his words as truth. In a way, it seemed she'd sort of looked up to him as a source of higher intellect, a voice that told her which direction to run. Many times he'd caught her watching him, absorbing each and every one of his words with a manner that appeared to be much like admiration, her bright blue eyes set aglow in eager expectation to hear what he had to say.

There was none of that in her eyes when he'd spoken last. Nothing but pain.

"_You'd be a fool to make me stay…_"

His fingertips hadn't ever left his face since the first connection they'd made with his cheek, the place where her hand had made physical contact against him. Something about it rendered him in a state of disbelief. She had never disagreed with him previously, especially on matters of such weight—though those matters were select and few— and maybe this fact made him assume the position of speaking in a synonymous way as her conscience.

This had brought him onto a distinct level of numbness. Not only could he watch in sheer bewilderment as that one girl who had once treated his words like gold disappeared into some unknown location of the Digital World, he also became trapped in an aware yet helpless consciousness as more data streams came about, ripping about and absorbing everything they touched. The disorder the situation had created only aided the streams in their mission. Kazu, who had instantly begun to pursue Shirai, had been taken up by one, and Takato and Rika, who had been close behind, by another. Only he, Jeri, and Kenta remained where they once all were.

_It's ironic_, he thought rather bitterly, _how I long it took the Tamers to get together, and how quickly we can all be separated…_

"I think Kenta has a point, Henry," Jeri piped up, the long silence clearly gnawing at the girl. Henry could see the distress on the brown-haired girl, even through his own mental brooding that was distracting him highly. "We're not helping anyone by just standing here. What if the others are in danger?" That was typical Jeri, he knew. Always thinking of others, always trying to be helpful, always having the most empathy.

It was funny in a way, he mused. After all, out of all of the Tamers, she might've been the one to go through the most pain, and yet her she always was, endlessly trying to offer help and support. She rarely thought of herself, despite all that had happened to her during their last visit to the Digital World and with D-Reaper. If anything, those experiences only boosted her morale and kindness. _This place changes people…_

The bluenette slowly removed his hand from his face and looked to Jeri and Kenta in turn. His mouth opened and closed again, as if by necessary ritual. "You're right," he conceded after an additional moment's contemplation.

Terriermon jumped up onto his shoulder, his voice a little snide as his put in his two cents, "Of course she's right! I'm gonna die of boredom if we stay here much longer! C'mon, Henry, let's get a move on!" He began to nudge the boy's head with a single, little paw, which didn't help his current mood any, nor did it make him any more eager to get going.

The long-eared Digimon's Tamer groaned half-heartedly. Normally he would make some sort of response to Terriermon's hyperactive nature, but this time, he just didn't see much point in it. Terriermon will be Terriermon, no matter how much he wanted him to change at times. And usually his partner could do well in cheering him up, but right now, he just found him rather irritating. He couldn't really blame his Digimon for it, though; after all, it wasn't his fault that any of this was happening, and he was just being his normal, spontaneous self.

And it most definitely wasn't his fault Henry couldn't get any of this out of his head.

"All right," he sighed finally, bringing his hand up to his forehead to make a visor to block the sun so he could properly look around for anything that could prove to be a potential destination. They definitely weren't going to head back into that forest, as there was really no point in doing so, but they still had plenty of daylight left to go in basically any other direction. "Which way should we go?"

They all took time to scan the land's layout. There was no way of determining cardinal directions, as day and night just flipped instantaneously, so whatever direction they chose would've basically been a blind guess, Henry knew. And plus, there was no way of telling where any of the other Tamers ended up either, so after a moment, he realized there wasn't much of a point in even trying to deduce the best possible course.

"That way looks pretty fun!" Calumon suddenly exclaimed from his place in Jeri's arms, interrupting Henry's train of thought and pointing off into the distance, the direct opposite direction to the forest they'd come from earlier that day. His ears expanded and fanned out as he jumped from the girl's embrace to the ground, excitement on his face. "Maybe we'll make some new friends there!" He began to dart off, kicking up dirt behind his little feet as he ran, singing all the while. "F is for friends who do stuff together! U is for you and me! N is for anywhere at any time at all, down here—!"

His singing was quickly drowned out by the Tamers' shouting for him to wait as they ran to catch up to the small Digimon. He, of course, was in his own little bubble of happy and didn't notice them yelling until they were caught up to him, to which he stopped and responded innocently, "What's all the rackety-stuff for?"

"Why'djya take off like that for, huh?" Kenta questioned in between winded breaths, hunched over with his hands gripping his legs. He was never a fan of gym class, and this was living, hardly-breathing evidence. MarineAngemon hovered about him, looking concerned as he tried to restore his energy. "I wanted to save the running for when we're running for our lives from a big, angry, rampaging Digimon that's trying to kill us…"

Calumon gave him an innocently-confused look for the briefest of moments, but then broke into another wide smile. Henry could easily suspect that that meant something was up, and his theory was proved correct when the little, creampuff loving creature answered simply, "One of our friends is this way!"

* * *

Rika let out an irritated groan, pressing her fingers tight to the bridge of her nose and closing her deep, violet eyes as if it would remove her from the current situation. "I'm getting tired of these stupid caves already! Why did we even come in here in the first place?!"

Takato opted to _not_ remind the redheaded girl that it was actually her idea to enter the cave in the first place (albeit it was to escape a fierce downpour that didn't hesitate to soak them within a few short moments) and fidgeted awkwardly, answering in such a way that didn't really give a response to her question, of which he wasn't even sure if it was rhetorical or not, "I'm sure we'll find an exit in no time." He looked to his Digimon, trying to think of ways to try to quell the on-coming storm that was Rika Nonaka. "Hey, Guilmon, do you smell fresh air or anything?"

The crimson raptor paused to sniff the air before replying, "Sorry, Takato. The only thing I smell of nature is Rika; she smells like cherry blossoms!"

In response, the said girl's face turned a noticeable, profuse red. She crossed her arms and looked away from the Digimon and his Tamer, her gaze shifting about. "Gee, thanks for noticing!" she retorted in a tone that Takato could only call snarky. She then muttered in a tone that Takato could barely make out—though he really didn't need to hear her exact words to know what she said, "Stupid gogglehead and his stupid partner…"

Letting Rika's irritation simmer down, the sandy-haired boy said nothing about how he too noticed her gentle scent of sakura (wisely figuring he'd probably get beat up if he did) and looked forward to the path ahead. The cave—actually it seemed more like a tunnel than anything—looked exactly the same as the ones they'd previously traveled through for the past who knows how long. There was nothing spectacular to them, but nonetheless they were cleanly cut through, and the stone walls were lined torches to light the path in an orange tint. In random places the tunnel would branch off, and they'd select a route in an equally random manner. There was a lack of willingness between the two Tamers as to who chose which way to go—Rika being hesitant because she didn't want the guilt of picking wrong, and Takato hesitant because he thought Rika would get mad at him for not letting her choose.

Ironically, neither one of them really cared about picking a route; they just wanted out of there as soon as possible.

"Sooo…" Takato began, trying to make small talk. He knew it wasn't going to go over well; Rika, for once, was _not_ a fan of idle chatter. "Some start to our summer, huh? Heh heh…eh..." His awkward chortling died off as soon as the female Tamer turned and gave him a hard stare that she was ever-so good at. He shut his trap and frowned, knowing she was in no mood for any of his attempts to make the tense air more tolerable. He liked to think she was grateful for his efforts deep down—like deep, _deep_ down—but he honestly doubted that.

After all, there weren't many ways of pleasing the Digimon Queen.

He often found himself wondering about that girl. It never ceased to surprise him of the frequency of which he did so, but there was just so much to her he didn't know. He knew she preferred to keep her personal life, well…personal, yet that didn't stop him from pondering ideas of why she had always been so cold when they first met. She still had those standoffish bouts at times, but the Rika he was now used to was far more open than the uncaring, distant girl he'd first encountered. She used to never smile or laugh or call anyone her _friend_, but after all the Tamers had been through, a loving Rika had broken through the ice that encased her heart. The complete, unbroken heart on her shirt was evidence of that.

And Takato liked that Rika the best.

From beside the gogglehead, Guilmon let out a whine. "Takato, can we stop for a little while? I think my feet are going to fall off…" And without even an "okay" of compliance, the dinosaur Digimon dropped to the ground.

From nowhere, Renamon phased into sight. Takato still had no idea how she did that, but regardless, the fox appeared next to her Tamer and spoke nonchalantly, "We have been going for quite a while. It may even be evening by now." Her crystalline eyes flashed in the light of the torches. "Rest would be wise; however, in a tunnel it could prove unsafe. If we were ambushed, we could only go in one direction. We should find an open cavern before we stop."

Rika gave a single nod of agreement, but Guilmon was a little less than eager to get up right away. "Aww, but I'm tired!" To this rather childish display, Rika revealed nothing short of a glare, directed to the Digimon, then shifted it over to the other Tamer present, who merely chuckled nervously in hopes that feigning lightheartedness would help with the redhead's temper.

Yeah, he should've known better.

"C'mon, boy." Takato leaned over his partner, his hands lightly on his hips. A simple smile formed on his face, trying to present the most ideal of outcomes—but not the most probable—that could spur from their current place and situation. "We don't have much farther to go, I'm sure. Maybe the place wherever this cave leads to has something to eat."

When giving this unlikely scenario, Takato knew Guilmon would perk up and wasn't surprised when he did so quite quickly. His Digimon gave his toothy smile and said enthusiastically, "Maybe there's bread there!" to which Rika didn't hesitate to groan. But Guilmon was pretty motivated now and led the others on ahead, most likely thinking about all of the sorts of foods they might find ahead. At least, that's what Takato figured he was thinking about. It seemed like the norm for his bottomless pit of a partner.

"Well, that was effective," Rika noted with a rather unimpressed tone, acutely watching as Guilmon trotted ahead, now talking to himself about what he'd eat first. "Some things never change." Her face remained expressionless as she said this, the flames reflecting within her irises being the only visible life within her physiognomy.

Takato laughed at the truth in her words. If there was one thing the boy knew would always remain would be his partner's never ending anticipation of his next meal. "Yeah, his need for food is one of the few constants in the world you can put stock in. But I don't think he'd be Guilmon anymore if he didn't always put lunch as number one on his priority list. Sometimes when people change, they just lose the identity they once had and gain something completely new. Like how—" When he realized what had just attempted to come from his mouth, he stopped abruptly before he could finish his train of thought's vocalization, but Rika's attention had already been caught. He instantly pretended he hadn't begun to open a new, serious can of worms and just looked off as if he didn't start to say anything to make implications on.

However, he knew the gears were turning in the violet-eyed Tamer's head at double-pace now. He wondered what sort of theories she was knitting together and suspicions she was gaining. It's not like he had said anything too pointed on any specific area, though he still felt she knew what he was going to say. She had that quality that she could analyze the mind of anything if she thought hard enough, or at least it seemed that way to him. She always seemed to be able to anticipate whatever the heck he was thinking about doing about three days before he even had the slightest notion to do it. Henry had once told him she was one of those highly-cognizant types, which was what made her so adept at the Digimon Card Game, and so he figured that was why it always seemed like she was so far ahead of him all the time.

But Takato liked to think it was because they were such good friends that she knew him like the back of her hand. The problem with _that_ hypothesis was he never could predict what she was going to do next. So that's where Kazu's theory popped into the equation: Takato was just that predictable of a guy.

Unfortunately, that seemed like the most likely of all the speculations.

"Ooh, Takato! Come look at this!"

At Guilmon's voice calling back to them, the Tamers perked up instantly and picked up the pace. Takato's Digimon had made it a ways ahead of them, so his voice sounded rather distant as it echoed down the tunnel. He must've found something actually worthwhile, since he sounded pretty happy as far as Takato could tell.

The path twisted and turned a bit, but then the torches ended when it finally opened up to a large cavern. Takato couldn't believe he was actually seeing what lied before his eyes, and without even looking at the girl beside him, he knew that she was just as surprised as he was, as she let out one breathless word:

"…Whoa."


	19. Chapter 18: Within Fantasy

**A/N: Woot I did it! After a long struggle, I finally finished this chapter. It took a bit of willpower and contemplation, but I think I arranged it all okay. I was determined to update this before I leave for college on Monday, and lo and behold, here it is.**

**I have to say that we are quickly nearing the climax, and I have to figure everything in the next few chapters out, but we're reaching the end pretty quick. I'm guessing there'll be about 25ish chapters, depending on how I put it all together. As I've found in this particular chapter, the parts that I've been planning take up more space than I originally anticipate.**

**For example, this chapter had an entire section taken out of it. Instead of getting the perspective of the three groups, I only put in two. You'll get the other group next chapter where the part is longer and more complete (if I had put it in this chapter, there would've been a major cliffie, and I don't wanna end it with a cliffie)**

**Uhhh...well, I can't remember anything else I was going to add. Hope you enjoy this chapter! It was fun writing it (despite my constant battles with it)! **

**R&R please, loves~!**

* * *

Chapter 18: Within Fantasy

—Shirai's POV—

_Boom!_

The crash of lightning jolted me awake with a start, instantly choking on my own breath as copious amounts of air tried to rush up my windpipe. My mind reeling, I attempted to vaguely analyze the situation; I was in a cave, poorly lit, but dry, which contrasted to the pouring rain I could hear outside. I couldn't recall falling asleep, but based on how exhausted I felt, it couldn't have been for more than a few hours.

"Ah, I see the lady is awake." My eyes focused on Guardromon, who was watching me attentively. _'The lady'? Well…that's a…peculiar name for me… Does he call all of the girls that and I just didn't notice? I don't remember…_ "Is there any way I can be of service?" His green eyes gazed long and hard, unchanging.

It took me a moment to beat through the rawness of my throat to find my voice, and when I had done so, my tone was crisp and rough as I responded, "No, I guess not. But…" My fingers curled, gathering up loose dirt in my fingers. I turned my eyes away, staring hard against the stone wall across from me that mirrored the one I was sitting up against in its crude shape. "…how long was I out?"

"One hour, thirty-seven minutes, and forty-three point nine seconds," he answered as-a-matter-of-factly, as if that was a no-brainer and I absolutely _needed_ (or at least should've known) that precise of an answer. But I guessed that was like the "the lady"-thing; it was better to leave unasked questions unasked.

"All right…" I was almost tempted to try to drift back asleep, although my dreams weren't too much lighter than my reality, so the reason why I'd get more sleep was debatable. And there was also this other thing that kept me from returning to slumber.

It was called Kazu and his lack of personal bubble awareness.

What I found was he had one arm around me and his head against my shoulder in such a way that could only induce disturbed thoughts. _Wait so…he held me this entire time I was out. And not in the endearing kind of way. More like the kidnapping or held hostage kind of way…Huh… _

Taking a look at his sleeping face, looking actually rather docile and composed (I was pretty sure I preferred this Kazu to the conscious Kazu), I kind of saw the sentiment in his action though. It was a cold cave, and man, did he put out a lot of body heat; though, that didn't really take away the fact the situation was sorta freaking me out. _Sooo…_ If it were possible for a person to feel both touched and creeped out simultaneously, then that was me.

But it was the creeped out part of me that took hold, so ever-so precisely I grasped his fingers, pried them off of me, and slid my body aside, causing his head get a face full of floor with a hollow-sounding thud.

Needless to say, the noise he made because of that wasn't a happy one. "Oww, didjya have a reason for doing that?" He turned his head so that one eye was ogling at me, but he didn't move from his new place on the ground as he waited for a response. I shrugged indifferently, and it was only then he sat up. He turned his head and peered over at the entrance of the cave. "Still raining, huh?" He then proceeded to yawn and throw his arms back behind his head. "I guess we'll just have to sit in this cave alone together and—"

I shot him a dirty look and that shut him up. I wasn't in any kind of mood for his crap and I was instantly thankful that he got the message. "So what are we going to do?" I murmured, momentarily listening to the sound of rain pouring resonating from outside as I pulled my legs up to my chest for more warmth. "We can't exactly go out there when the weather's this bad…" Resting my chin on my knees, I let my eyes wander into the darkness that shrouded the cave as it led further into the earth. I didn't exactly want to travel into it any further, but at current, it didn't seem like there was any other option than that or just sit around and wait for the storm to let up.

"Yeah. Hopefully none of the others are caught in it." Kazu pursed his lips and grew silent. It felt strange seeing him that composed, but it really didn't surprise me that at a time like this, after mentioning the possibility the other Tamers could be tormented by the elements, that he wouldn't be quick to make a joke. Even _he_ had more sense than that.

A sigh escaped from my mouth, but I didn't comment on his words. Closing my eyes, I began to let the wanderings take over. _I wonder if Sal's in the storm right now…_ Within my mind, lightning flashed a brilliant blue. _She used to hate storms…_ A smile tried to tug at my mouth, but I refused to let it show. _But not if it was just rain…She loved the rain…_ My consciousness faded in and out of reality, caught up with a memory that invaded my mind's eye:

"_C'mon, Rai! Glaciers move faster than you! C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!" Salamon darted about, impatient as I saw her constantly peering out the window. "We're gonna miss it and it'll be all your fault, Rai!" She scrambled over to me and tried to push me forward by basically head-butting the back of my leg._

_To this, I merely laughed, lifted up my leg just as she charged, and watched her trip and somersault clumsily. "I know, Sal. Just getting my jacket." I pulled said jacket from the closet and slipped it on. "All right! Let's head out then!" Grinning, I yanked the door open and met a total downpour drenching everything in sight. I snickered and looked down at my partner, teasing, "Last chance to bow out."_

_What could only be described as her game face made its debut and she declared, "Neverrrr~!" as she dashed out, me right on her heels with distinct amusement in tow. Her carefree laughter rang out as she made use of the entire yard, splashing about and diving to the ground like it was a Slip-and-Slide, shooting off from one side of our property to the other. "C'mon, Rai! Don't be a party pooper! Get in on the action!"_

"_I'm not—" Instantly I shut up, knowing vocal protest wasn't going to be what convinces her, so I put up my hood and went after her, water penetrating through my shoes almost immediately, but I didn't care. That was an issue for later. I made a lunge to the ground, skidding forward as my Digimon friend had just done, and let out a whoop as water shot up on either side of me. _

_Just as I came sliding to a halt and before I could get back up, Salamon came bounding over and made a big leap, splashing water on me as she came down. In midst of her hard laughter, she told me, "See? You gotta listen to me more often! You'd have more fun that way! Hee hee!" She then proceeded to jump and down in place, continually drenching me more and more. _

_I, for one, didn't appreciate the gesture. "Oh, you are gonna pay for that, you little brat!" I scrambled to my feet, only to slip and fall back down while she made this out to be a game of tag. I didn't mind; actually, I was smiling all the while. "Come back here so I can shove you in a rain gutter!" Going up to my feet, I pursued her._

"_Catch me if you can, Rai!" she called back deviously, outrunning me with no problem, and making sure to splash in every puddle that crossed her path. Through the sound of the pouring rain hitting the earth, her amusement came through loud and clear to me as she cackled heartily. _

_And I could bet that she could hear mine as well._

_Our game ensued for who knew how long, circling around and around the front yard. No one was around to see our antics, mainly because there was no one dumb enough to go out when it was raining that hard. Well, no one besides us. _

_Eventually I had made up some distance and I dove. "I gotchya!" As I dropped to the ground, I snatched her up in my arms, and we slid together across the grass. When we came to a stop, we only grinned at each other, panting and trying to catch our breath. It was worth coming outside every single time._

"_Brr, it's getting cold!" Sal remarked, jumping into my jacket without consent just as I got up to my feet. "Ooh, it's warm in here, though!"_

_I knew she couldn't see the amusement on my face as I responded, "Sal, that's not fair! Next time, I'm jumping in _your_ jacket while sopping wet!"_

"_But you forget something! Digimon don't wear jackets! Hee hee hee!" I could feel her form nestling up close to me, trying to get as much body heat as possible. "Besides, you're already wet! In fact you smell like wet dog!"_

_My face contorted at her latest remark and I had to force myself to keep the laughter contained. Even when she was insulting me, she still had this way of constantly being able to make me laugh. Beginning to walk back to the house, I answered back, "Hey, I'm not the dog here. If there's any wet dog smell present, it's you!"_

_The sarcasm rang high with the next one, "Mhmm, likely story, Rai!"_

_I said nothing, pursing my lips to hold in my amusement as I entered my house. While taking off my shoes and leaving them at the door as to keep from tracking the mud that not only covered them but the rest of me as well, my mom came by. The moment she saw me, she stopped and made a face, along with an unmasked tone that showed she really didn't approve, "Shirai, _again_? Go take a bath; you smell like a wet dog."_

"_Hehehe, told you so," came the devious snicker from within my jacket._

_A glare was sent down in her direction, but I ignored the remark. Instead I complied to my mom's request and headed to the bathroom. It was here (after making sure to close and lock the door) that I unzipped my jacket and released a very wet and muddy Digimon. And of course, as all dogs do, she made sure she was extra close to me and decided to shake off, spraying me once again with water._

_Needless to say, I was not impressed. _

_I groaned as I stared down at Salamon (who was giving me that puppy grin back) before beginning to run a bath. "Okay, you know what time it is. No preventing it, Sal." Now, I knew, was when things were about to get a lot more complicated. Especially when I saw the look my partner suddenly made. And then there was her exclamation._

"_You won't take me alive!" _

_And with that, began a very hectic game of Catch-the-Digimon-and-Shove-It-Into-The-Bathtub. Even though our bathroom was small, she was agile and made certain to cover every surface she could get her paws on with muddy tracks. Lots of shouting accompanied the chase, and you would've thought a battle was going on in there. And there might as well have been, since Salamon was doing everything in her power to keep from being thrown in the tub._

_But in due time it was about that point in the chase when I slipped in water and realized that the tub was overflowing. _

"_Sal! Gaah, c'mon!" With distinct precision (this really wasn't the first time this had all happened, so I had my share of practice), I turned off the faucet with one hand, grabbed Salamon by her stubby little tail with the other, and then flung her right in the tub. More water splashed over the edge, but the most important thing was she was now in. I yanked a bottle of shampoo from the shelf and putting up with my partner's struggles, I pulled the bottle cap off with my teeth and basically poured half of the contents on her head. _

_None of this went as smoothly as it sounds, however. There was a lot of yelling, squirming, and biting on Salamon's part. Pouring the shampoo on her head only helped with the racket because it, and I quote, "Smelled like Ogremon feet." Well, if Ogremon feet smelled like tangerine and grapefruit, then sure._

_But finally, after an irksome amount of scrubbing, it seemed that my little puppy partner couldn't get much cleaner, I so pulled her out (with her weighing about five pounds heavier from all the water her fur absorbed), propped up a hair dryer, and let her have at it. She hated the bath part, but when she got to spend quality time with the blow dryer, she couldn't forget about the nearly-drowned experience fast enough. _

_So as she dried herself off, I showered and then redressed, which gave her plenty of time to bask in the warm flow of air and render her body looking like a giant puffball with legs. When I laughed at her resemblance to a cotton wad, she merely sneered at me, "You're just jealous because my hair is more fun than yours!"_

_Wrapping my own locks up in a towel, I answered, "Yeah, that's exactly what it is." Unlocking the door, I then peered out, searching for any parental eye that may spot my puffy Digimon walking about like she lived here (well, she technically did live here, but I left that tiny detail out of my parents' knowledge). Seeing no one, I murmured, "Okay, coast is clear." I yanked the door open and we darted for my bedroom on the second floor._

_Our trek there was a simple success and we'd just made it to safety when I heard that all-too familiar voice shouting up at me, "Shirai! Get back down here and clean up that mess you made! There's mud and water everywhere! And how in the world did you get PAW prints on the walls?!"_

_My head turned in slow motion to give a distinct glare to my Digimon. And of course, all she did was snicker, her blue eyes mischievous as she cheerily stated, "Better get to work, Rai!"_

The memory made my chest ache. It had felt so long ago, when really, it couldn't have been more than a couple months. I strained my fingers through my hair, sighing. _I miss you, Sal…_ My teeth pinched my lip at the intruding thought, one of the many thoughts I tried to prevent from entering my head. _…The real you…_ My hand dropped into my lap and clenched. _Not the you that I created—not the you that you are now…_ I rose to my feet and looked to Kazu, no idea present of how my face must've looked at that moment. _I swear I'll get you back…_

"C'mon. We're not gonna sit around any longer."

* * *

—Third Person Narration—

"Wha-what is this place?"

Takato's mouth hung ajar at what was spread out before his eyes. He was tempted to smack himself just to confirm that what he was seeing really was what was there. After all, how often in the middle of a cavern was there a long, royalty-sized dinner table covered from one end to the other full of food?

The entire cavern was extravagant, to say in the least. The interior looked as though it belonged within a temple of some sort. The walls, ceiling, and floor all seemed to be made of a stone resembling marble, as did Roman-style pillars standing in precise rows from the ceiling down. They must've taken years to carve, Takato mentally noted, seeing the articulate designed engraved identically on each one. And his mind immediately added, _And it must've sucked for the 'mon if he screwed up on one._

The gogglehead's eyes trailed back to the amazing spread and saw instantly that his partner was quickly approaching the golden-brown dinner rolls atop the table. And he knew if he didn't stop him now, in a few short moments the table would probably be bare. "Guilmon, don't eat things that aren't yours!"

As Guilmon whined a little, "Aww, okay…" the two Tamers neared the table, taking in the sheer magnificence of the whole scene. The entire place was bathed in light, and looking upwards, neither Takato nor Rika knew where it was coming from. There most likely wasn't some skylight to provide the light, since last time they were outside, it had been storming hard enough that it seemed all of hell was breaking loose all around them.

"I wonder what all of this food is for," Takato mused, secretly hoping that it wasn't all for one ginormous Digimon with an equally-ginormous appetite. Or a ginormous temper. Especially the latter. While he didn't want to think about fighting, he couldn't help but notice that if Guilmon Digivolved, there'd be no way he could fit in this cavern without causing serious damage.

"It's for the day of Master Gankoomon's return."

No one had noticed when two humanoid Digimon entered the room, and before they knew it, they were standing at the head of the table. One, the one that had spoken, was dressed as a nun, clad in black with a klobuk with the design of a cat or bat and held a handgun in each hand. The other was clad similarly but in white, a shier-looking Digimon with a pink klobuk in the design of a rabbit. A golden, three-pronged lance taller than her was in her hand.

"Oh, okay." Takato's voice revealed his confusion, since the Digimon's tone was so as-a-matter-

of-fact, and he decided to just run with it. "And…who are you guys?"

The same one spoke again, grinning as she waved her guns about absentmindedly as she spoke, "We're the Sistermon, of course!" _Of course_, Takato's mind responded. "I'm Sistermon Noir and this is my little sister Sistermon Blanc!"

From behind her, Sistermon Blanc gave the smallest of smiles, the light in her eyes much more subdued than that of her older sister's. She adjusted her trident so that she was holding it in both hands and it acted as a small barrier between her and the Tamers. Her expression didn't completely show distrust, but outmost caution and introversion.

Takato gave a nice smile back to her, trying to reassure her obvious nerves. "Well, I'm Takato and that's Rika." He gestured to the redhead and she gave a partial smile in their direction but said nothing to introduce herself. "And that Digimon that almost ate you out of house and home is Guilmon." He gave a partial laugh as he looked to and fro between his partner and the aforementioned food. "Well…this food looks, uh, pretty fresh!"

He stopped to eye Rika, who was just giving him a stupefied expression but made no effort to stop him from rambling the way he was—he was probably just as confused as she was why he wouldn't let the silence settle, so he had basically no choice but to continue, "Have… you been waiting for your master long?"

The two Sistermon looked at each other momentarily before Noir answered, lacking no enthusiasm than what she possessed before, "It's been a long time—we're not even sure how long, actually—but we'll never lose faith because he promised us! He promised he'd come back, and we know him! He'd never betray his word! Not Master Gankoomon!"

While the darkly-clad Digimon appeared pleased as she spoke, in a single moment, Rika Nonaka was not. Those words. She would've doubted she'd heard right, but there were far too many to doubt. She'd heard all of this before in resonating, ever-repeating words, seen this scenario played in far-too colorful clarity, and before she knew how much she was set off by such things—by everything that had come rushing back in a merciless flashflood, something within her mind snapped.

"Why the _hell_ do you put that much stock in a stupid promise?!"

The words that had escaped the girl's lips so quickly, so crisp, made the brown-haired boy next to her literally jump. He knew that while she was known for having a bit of a temper, she was good at keeping a hold on it, especially when meeting new acquaintances. What had sparked her anger, he didn't know, but what he did know was that he had to try to calm her down. So, unsurely and with hints of complete fear that he'd be caught in crossfire of some sort, he reached out and touched her arm, trying to suggest as steadily as humanly possible, "Uh, Rika…? There's no reason to get angry…" only for his mind to add the inevitable, _…is there?_

She didn't seem like she was going to pay him any mind and get into that mindset when she forgets that he was even there, but sure enough, she batted a single, violet eye in his direction for the smallest fraction of a second, and paused to take an aggravated sigh. "Look," she continued in a rough scoff, albeit her temper much more contained than mere moments before, "When it comes to waiting for people that don't come back, don't ever hold your breath. I waited a long time too, but there comes a time when you have to give up. So why don't you save yourself the time and heartbreak?"

Takato pulled back his arm and watched the girl for a moment, trying to put together the implications of her words. It was rare that Rika ever got personally involved—or even _mentioned_ her personal life—when it came to the affairs of others. Sure, she used personal experience day in and day out—that was obvious, but this was a different matter entirely. That only little part of a sentence—that one where she included herself—just kept ringing within his head. _I waited a long time too…_

The Sistermon glanced at each other, then at Rika, who remained all the while entirely stone-faced, before expressing their sympathy. Both of them seemed momentarily melancholy until another few moments passed and Sistermon Noir perked up and suggested, "There's plenty of food. Feel free to eat as much as you please."

Guilmon, needless to say, was beyond jubilant. He looked to his Tamer and questioned, "Didjya here that, Takato! Free food! Free food!" And proceeded to dig in without even the slightest hint of delicacy or refinement.

Takato merely gave a short laugh at his partner's predictable behavior before conceding and sitting down at one of the many chairs that surrounded the table. For a moment he just watched Guilmon scarf down all but the plates that he quickly cleared, then went about picking and choosing food for himself.

Rika sat, but didn't eat. Her eyes merely remained poised on the small space of bare tablecloth before her, and just by looking at her, Takato knew she was caught within her own head within a reality other than this one. He had no idea what to even assume she was thinking about, but thinking about what she was maybe thinking about made him think that maybe he was thinking too hard. _Oww, too much thinking…_

His mental brooding caused him to stare in a single direction, and when the Nonaka girl peered upward, locking gazes with him—his foggy, little stupor of a stare against her hard, what-are-you-looking-at-Gogglehead glare—he was forced to abruptly look away and set his eyes on what he had put his plate in front of him.

Though he wasn't directly looking at her, Takato continued watching her without her notice. He knew she didn't notice, because he knew that if she did, she'd make sure he knew she knew it. Usually with a "What?!" or a soundless but lethal threat within her gaze. But no matter what she'd do, nine chances out of eight, it'd make him shut his trap, look away, and wish he wasn't born. Rika's anger could usually do that to a person.

When it came to that, Rika would make sure she got her point across loud and clear. She even looked pretty threatening as she glared down at the tablecloth, but that's not what was bothering Takato. The fact she wasn't doing _anything_ was bothering him. That usually meant she was livid and trying to think of ways to keep from bursting. But her face was different than what he was used to seeing when he was ducking for cover.

What was that look in her eyes?

Renamon phased in at her Tamer's side, her liquid blue eyes trained to the redheaded girl, her expression just as unreadable. "Rika, what is wrong?" she questioned, her voice laced with concern while still retaining that calm composure she was expert at possessing.

The tension was high, and Rika knew it. She _felt _it. Between the pressure put on by Takato and Renamon, she felt like she was being compressed in a vice. Her personal life had the word personal in it for a reason, and she hated how it was losing its meaning. She hated how she was suddenly the center of attention, she hated that look Renamon was giving her, she hated why she was feeling this way. With everything weighing down on her, she could feel her will bending and when she lifted her eyes only in the slightest, she saw that stupid gogglehead with that look. That sympathetic look he was far too good at.

She couldn't take it any longer. Thrusting her palms against the table, she rose and looked all around to everyone, first to her partner and ending with the boy across from her who was slowly rising to his feet. "I don't need your pity!" she snapped, her mind whirling all around, feeling her entire being burning. "I don't _want_ your pity—any of you! Just butt out!"

The silence when she closed her lips settled, but her words seemed to hang about in the air. All eyes were on her; even Guilmon had stopped eating to see what was going on. She pulled from her place, and began to walk away, into an adjacent doorway and out of the room. All eyes watched her leave, but made no movement.

"Her world is so small," Sistermon Blanc murmured, just loud enough that the high, quiet notes reached Takato's ears. "It's so sad."

He turned and looked at the two Sistermon, wondering if they knew something that no one else did. He doubted it, but Digimon had this way about them that they could see far more than humans. But this was something that Renamon—Rika's partner and closest friend—didn't even know about, so how would they know?

"I'm going after her," he resolves after not a moment's hesitation, his eyes on the Sistermon as he tried to figure out what they could possibly know. But then his gaze averted to Guilmon, who was waiting for him to say something more, and gave a light smile with a short laugh. "Guilmon, you can stay here; I'll just be a little bit. You can just keep on filling your face."

He began after the redheaded girl after a short word of compliance from his partner (it wasn't like he expected anything different from his Digimon, though) and as he entered the adjacent tunnel that Rika had disappeared into moments before, he caught Sistermon Noir's voice calling after him, her voice spirited as was the norm, "That's it, Takato! Go save your princess!"

He almost tripped over flat ground.

"_Princess_?" he repeated in a quiet squeak, feeling his mouth go dry and his face blaze. He was momentarily glad he was all alone at current so that no one could question his klutzy response to Sistermon's words. He groaned. Digimon _did_ see stuff. Far too well, he was afraid.

Shaking his head to remove those thoughts, and begins to walk through the tunnel. It was far different than the clean-cut, torch-lit ones that they'd traveled in earlier. This one was significantly more narrow and not as well carved out, like it could crumble at any given time. On the ceiling, strange, luminous crystals—if he remembered what Henry told him at one point or another, they were called stalactite or something like that—that provided quite dim but much-needed light. But he still didn't see Rika.

He called out to her as he briskly walked, throwing an apology or two in the mix for good measure. Once, twice, three times.

No response.

He picked up the pace, a twinge shooting down his spine at just how quiet it was. He cupped his hands over his mouth as he called frantically now, "Rika!" His wine-hued irises shot everywhere, the lack of visibility beginning to both aggravate him and make him more distressed simultaneously. "Rika! Where are you?!"

Panic mixed into his blood so he couldn't escape it. A part of him felt that somewhere between the problem and the solution, something had gone horribly askew and this was the result. He was kicking himself; there must've been something he could've done, but he was too oblivious to see it. There was no telling what could've happened—_what if—?_ _No, no, no. _He had to stop his imagination before it could take root, but that task was getting increasingly more difficult as time went and no signs of Rika emerged.

He could only keep on and hope for the best. "Ri—"

"_What_?" She emerged from an adjacent corridor, looking as irritated as his voice sounded. In fact, there were so many qualities of that 'what?' that sounded like a statement, Takato had to figure that it wasn't a question at all. Judging by that hard stare she was openly giving him, he figured that he was probably one of the last people she wanted to see right then. "If you're any louder, you'll make the whole tunnel cave in, gogglehead."

Against his better judgment, instead of remarking upon that last comment his fellow Tamer had made, he decided to approach the problem directly. But he really didn't know how to go about it. And that was a problem all of its own. "Hey, if I…uh, said something or uhh…did something to make you angry…erm…" He wasn't very good at this, he decided the moment that he had finished struggling through the first part of his poor sentence. "…feel free to…beat my brains out."

For the moment, Rika's annoyed front faltered. Or at least Takato thought it had, but he couldn't have been certain, because he blinked and it was back up again. But she didn't say anything about his free offer to basically beat him up, and sighed roughly. She averted her eyes from him, moving them in the direction where Takato had come. Her voice was strained, clearly plagued by other thoughts and tempting words, "…Okay, let's just go."

She brushed past him, and they began their trek back to the Sistermon's cavern. Aside from their shoes grinding against the dirt and their faint breaths, it was almost entirely silent as they walked side by side. Takato hated the feeling of awkward silence, but after a few lame attempts at innocent conversation, he found himself being practically shunned by the expressionless girl beside him. Every word to come from his mouth seemed to fall on deaf ears, so he concluded he was just going to have to deal with the awkwardness.

And for a good while, nothing happened. The dim lighting kept them from being able to tell just how much progression they'd made, but when minutes passed—how many, it was impossible to tell, but still it was obvious the trip was taking far longer than it should have. Long enough that after a prolixity both Tamers swapped synchronized glances of near-identical expression, and with such an exchange, they knew instantly that something had to be wrong.

"Now, let's not panic," Takato suggested with a voice higher-toned than what should've come out, knowing that Rika wouldn't panic but still using the words for his own reassurance. "We must've just turned wrong somewhere." But even he knew that wasn't what was going on.

If one could win a trophy for stupid things a person can say, he knew by the look on Rika's face that she would've bashed him upside the head with it. "Have you seen _any _paths that branch off from here?! We haven't taken any turns to have taken any wrong, you stu—ugh, never mind." The redhead crossed her arms over her chest and huffed, mumbling something that he figured was about his stupidity and obliviousness.

Takato frowned. Clearly being lost didn't help Rika's mood, which was all-too evident with how snarky she was being. He probably would've been irritated too, that is, if he hadn't been too busy trying to find ways to keep from angering his friend even further. Too bad his attempts weren't working; she was basically a ticking time bomb with an attitude.

He pulled out his D-Arc, checking to see if it could display the compass to lead back to Guilmon. He smiled the instant the screen lit up and displayed the little arrow, but it quickly slipped back into a frown as the arrow spun around and around unceasingly. "The D-Arc isn't showing anything, either," he muttered, for some reason hoping that if he broke the news quietly, it wouldn't aggravate Rika as much as it would've had his voice been raised.

Surprisingly she was pretty calm about. She was calm_er_ than she had been. She groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose, visibly trying to cap up all of the distress that was threatening escape. "This is stupid! Someone is clearly messing with us!"

It was that last part that Takato had been thinking, but didn't want to say aloud. Just the thought of something out to get them—the exact moment they're separated from their partners no less—while they were trapped in a tunnel that led to nowhere, probably exactly where it wanted them, because let's face it, Takato mentally admitted, they were basically useless without their Digimon, and at the same time, their Digimon couldn't Digivolve without them. Things couldn't have fallen together better if whatever it was had planned it.

Takato slumped his shoulders. He knew Rika was right; he knew it to be true even before she said it. If there was anything he learned from the Digimon TV show and his own past experiences, it was that if you were Digidestined, danger had a tendency to follow you like…well, something that follows you a lot. He released an uneasy, hesitant huff. "…So what do we do now?"

What the violet-eyed girl responded with had too many characteristics of a growl to be considered a sigh. Glowing in the crystals' hazed light, her eyes were placed upon his with a level of sharpness that could make the ground shake with their weight. She was still testy, he knew in a single instant. "Well we can't just sit around waiting for something to find us…" Her eyes disappeared. "We're totally defenseless."

The brown-haired boy knew it took a lot for her to admit she had a weakness; while she wasn't overly proud as she once was, she still didn't like admitting it when she was incapable of something. He knew this for a fact; it was a part of her that held firm as her walls fell. It was a part of her that gave her that formidable resolve that made her so undeniably powerful.

He couldn't control his own words. "What if we get even more lost than we are already?" As soon as the words escaped, he knew questioning Rika's logic was the exact wrong thing to do. Not because he knew she was right, but because of that look she instantly shot him. She was in no mood for her words to be questioned. He opened his mouth to try to ask her to forget he asked, but the fire had already been ignited.

She got up in his face, close enough that he was forced to gulp down his instantaneous panic, but the redhead was too agitated to even notice that their noses were almost touching. "Takato—!"

She cut herself off without warning or apparent reasoning. His name lingered on her tongue. Her exasperation had been evident, but the longer her lips remained parted, the more it seemed to dissolve from her face and the air surrounding them. And thusly she remained, her expression softening upon her delicate features and her gaze poised on his bewildered face.

Takato, in short, was alarmed. Rika's actions were doing nothing less than confusing him, and when she was being confusing was when he became the most concerned. She was usually straightforward and direct; she wasn't even scrutinizing him for whatever she usually scrutinized him for or anything. Not that he minded her looking at him the way she was or anything—

He ceased his mental ramblings mid-thought, reminding himself just who this was that he was rambling on about. This was Rika Nonaka. Known all over Japan as the renowned Digimon Queen. The tomboy with a talent for the Digimon Card Game. The girl that'd hit him for saying something dumb or for embarrassing her in public. The girl that to all other Tamers was just another one of the guys.

But to him, she'd always be the girl that he'd first seen in his dreams the night that all of this began.

She turned from him, away so that he was staring at her wild ponytail on the back of her head. Her breath was suddenly audible as she let out a few hastened exhales. She clenched her fists, then unclenched them again and as her fingers loosened, so did the rest of her muscles, causing her figure to slouch slightly. Each moment was intricate and over-exaggerated, as if something out of place would disrupt the atmosphere around her. But then her voice came suddenly, subdued and sincere, "Sorry, Takato."

If he would've been just a wee bit distracted, he would've missed her words entirely. They were just loud enough to make out what she had said, but even though he knew what she had said, it didn't make it any easier to believe the fact that she had actually apologized to him. He knew she had changed more than any one of the Tamers, but somehow the act of remorse was still something he saw as foreign to her. And now he had to change his thoughts; it wasn't foreign as much as rare. Yet he wasn't exactly sure what she was apologizing for.

"Whaa~?" is all that came out of his jumbled mind into the open air.

Her head slowly turned back towards him and that expression written into the soft curves of her face made his chest seemingly clench. Her cheeks were dusted with a rosy pink as her violet-hued orbs locked onto his wine-like irises as if drawn by magnetism. "For…" She bit her lip and her eyes wavered as they bounced to and from his face. "…dragging you into this. It's my fault we're lost." Her brows furrowed and irritation crossed her face again.

Takato was taken aback, to say in the least. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and looked everywhere but on the girl that was making his mind scramble as he tried to collect himself. "Uh, yeah sure. It's…" He snuck a look back over at the redhead and noticed she was giving him a perplexed look. His probably showed just as much confusion as hers; after all, not only had Rika Nonaka just apologized to him, but she also took on blame willingly. "…no problem."

They found themselves looking at each other a little longer than what was considered the norm, and as time ticked by quickly, it grew increasingly awkward. Their faces both contorted and their eyes dilated before shooting away from each other. Rika turned her head back in the direction she was facing, and Takato found a particularly intriguing part of the wall to stare at.

And it was a lucky thing he had. Otherwise he would've missed the streak of red shoot from seemingly out of nowhere and latch onto the glowing stalactite. The hanging stone's light faded out and began to crack.

"_Rika_!"


End file.
